Australian bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon released a joint statement on Tuesday. In that, they have explained their stance on the 2018 ball-tampering incident. In an interview last week, Australia opener Cameron Bancroft said it’s “self-explanatory” whether the bowlers knew about the plan to alter the condition of the ball on Day 3 of the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.
This statement has stirred controversy about the incident. Many former cricketers both from Australia and abroad have once again taken a dig at the cricketers for their role. The bowlers have now come up with a joint statement clarifying their stance.
Australia bowlers release joint statement
“To The Australian Public, We pride ourselves on our honesty. So it’s been disappointing to see that our integrity has been questioned by some journalists and past players in recent days regarding the Cape Town Test of 2018,” the bowling pack said in a statement.
“We have already answered questions many times on this issue, but we feel compelled to put the key facts on the record again: We did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands.
And to those who, despite the absence of evidence, insist that ‘we must have known about the use of a foreign substance simply because we are bowlers, we say this: The umpires during that Test match, Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth, both very respected and experienced umpires, inspected the ball after the images surfaced on the TV coverage and did not change it because there was no sign of damage.
None of this excuses what happened on the field that day at Newlands. It was wrong and it should never have happened. We’ve all learned valuable lessons and we’d like to think the public can see a change for the better in terms of the way we play, the way we behave and respect the game. Our commitment to improving as people and players will continue.
We respectfully request an end to the rumor-mongering and innuendo. It has gone on too long and it is time to move on,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, out of favour Australia batter Cameron Bancroft had recently spoken with ‘The Guardian’ about the ball-tampering incident. He was caught on camera using sandpaper trying to alter the condition of the ball. They received sanctions from both ICC and Cricket Australia.
“Yeah, look, all I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part. Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory,” Bancroft told The Guardian when asked whether any of the bowlers knew about the plan.
