Steve Smith says he is still traumatised by the infamous "Sandpapergate" ball-tampering scandal in 2018, but the former Australia skipper is undaunted about returning to South Africa for his first Test series since.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The prolific batsman was sent home in disgrace, banned for a year and sacked as captain after conspiring to alter the ball using sandpaper during the third Test in Cape Town eight years ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
David Warner, considered the ringleader, was suspended for 12 months and stripped of all leadership roles while Cameron Bancroft was slapped with a nine-month ban.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith, preparing for the first Test in Durban on October 9 before the series moves to Gqeberha and Cape Town, said he still suffers flashbacks to a traumatic period of his life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He is haunted by memories of leaving Johannesburg airport, with cameras clicking furiously around him, and a harrowing Sydney press conference on his return when he broke down in tears.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I'm not a big fan of cameras ... I get anxious around cameras to be honest," he told News Corp. in an interview published Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that in a way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The 24-48 hours of being told by James Sutherland (then-Cricket Australia chief executive) that I was getting banned for a year. That and going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing that press conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I still have little flashbacks here and there of it."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith bore the brunt of the scandal that is considered one of Australian sport's darkest moments, but bounced back emphatically.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He smashed a superb century against England on his return and has gone from strength to strength, with 10,920 Test runs so far at an average of 56.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial period a few days after," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The mental state I was in was not great. That's somewhere I'd like not to get to again, but I certainly learned from that and have been able to move forward with my life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I've tried to kind of erase a lot of 2018 and what happened," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I can't remember a lot about the series. I've tried to block most of it out of my memory bank."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Smith has been back to South Africa for a white-ball series since 2018, but not for a Test and he is bracing for hostile crowds.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But the 37-year-old is unperturbed, having negotiated multiple Ashes tours to England since 2018, where the Barmy Army abused him relentlessly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's something I'm kind of used to. I've copped a lot at times away from home at different venues across my career and it's something that I take in my own stride," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I use it as motivation to try and go out and do well and try and take a positive from it."
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
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