Four Australian bowlers denied any knowledge of the notorious "Sandpaper-gate" ball-tampering incident on Tuesday after a former team-mate suggested they may have been aware of the plot.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitch Starc, Nathan Lyon issued a joint statement slamming "rumour-mongering and innuendo" after the explosive comments by former Test teammate Cameron Bancroft, who served a nine-month ban over the affair.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Allegations are being made "despite the absence of evidence", the bowlers said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's been disappointing to see that our integrity has been questioned by some journalists and past players in recent days," they said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We respectfully request an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo. It has gone on too long and it is time to move on," the bowlers added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bancroft told the Guardian newspaper it was "self-explanatory" that bowlers were aware of the attempt to rough up the ball with sandpaper, to alter its flight, during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After Bancroft's interview, former captains Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist both accused Cricket Australia of failing to fully investigate the incident.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The scandal came to light when Bancroft, who was fielding, was caught on camera trying to hide a piece of yellow sandpaper down the front of his trousers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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," the bowlers said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They added that the on-field umpires inspected the ball after the images were shown, and "did not change it because there was no sign of damage".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Then-captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were suspended for a year from all cricket and stripped of their leadership roles for their part in the scandal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Darren Lehmann quit as coach and Cricket Australia's top brass all departed after a scathing review said an "arrogant and controlling" win-at-all-costs culture was partly to blame for players bending the rules.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australian media on Tuesday quoted unnamed sources saying Bancroft had backed away from his allegations after being asked to provide evidence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Cricket Australia did not respond to a request for comment regarding that claim.
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
"image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/05\/australian-bowlers-deny-knowing-about-sandpaper-gate-ball-tampering.jpg",
"alt_img": "Cricket Image for Australian Bowlers Deny Knowing About 'Sandpaper-Gate' Ball-Tampering",
"alt_title": "Australian Bowlers ",
"image1": "",
"video": "",
"seo_title": "Australian Bowlers Deny Knowing About 'Sandpaper-Gate' Ball-Tampering | Cricketnmore.com",
"seo_desc": "Four Australian bowlers denied any knowledge of the notorious \"Sandpaper-gate\" ball-tampering incident.",
"seo_keywords": "Cricket Australia, Australia Cricket Team",
"tag": "",
"tagging": "Cricket Australia,Australia Cricket Team,",
"status": "1",
"img_rpt": "0",
"google": "1",
"standout": "0",
"edapps": "0",
"pulse": "0",
"no_index": "0",
"feed": "0",
"fixture": "0",
"slug": "australian-bowlers-deny-knowing-about-sandpaper-gate-ball-tampering",
"user_id": "0",
"read_count": "0",
"ians_date": "0000-00-00",
"ians_time": "00:00:00",
"server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00",
"trash": "0",
"view_count": "1966",
"page_break": "0",
"instant_articles": "1",
"auto_link": "1",
"created": "2021-05-18 19:50:30",
"updated": "2021-05-18 19:50:30",
"img_from": "Image Source: Twitter",
"img_source": "",
"schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00",
"news_keywords": "Australian Bowlers, Sandpaper Gate, Ball Tampering, Australia, South Africa, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummin, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood",
"livescore_text": null,
"livescore_link": null,
"btn_text": null,
"resend_feed": "1",
"google_feed": "0",
"read_more": "0",
"posted_by": "12",
"jio_date": "2021-05-18 19:50:30",
"scheduled": "0",
"news_now": "1",
"breaking_news": "0",
"google_date": "2021-05-18 19:50:30",
"featured": "0",
"pred_match_id": null,
"article_content_type": null,
"link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/australian-bowlers-deny-knowing-about-sandpaper-gate-ball-tampering-76287"
}