{"id":942348,"date":"2026-10-27T04:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T04:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942348\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T04:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T04:58:23","slug":"former-south-africa-captain-faf-du-plessis-reveals-proteas-role-in-sandpapergate-ahead-of-aussies-cape-town-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942348\/","title":{"rendered":"Former South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis reveals Proteas\u2019 role in Sandpapergate ahead of Aussies\u2019 Cape Town return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis says it was the Proteas themselves who sounded the alarm on Australia<\/a> during the infamous ball-tampering saga of 2018. <\/p>\n

Ahead of Australia\u2019s first Test in Cape Town since Sandpapergate, Du Plessis has revealed his side alerted broadcaster Super Sport when they suspected the tourists of tampering with the ball. <\/p>\n

Cameron Bancroft was infamously caught with sandpaper in his trousers during the third Test of the series at Newlands, which he was using to rough one side of the ball up, for which he, skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner all received bans.<\/p>\n

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To this day, the saga remains largely shrouded in mystery over who knew, how many people were really involved, and which players escaped blame.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Grade Cricketer<\/a> ahead of this week\u2019s third and deciding Test between the two nations, Du Plessis said they smelt something fishy at the time and started watching the Aussies closely. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot said that\u2019s known and there\u2019s a lot of stuff that you don\u2019t know. Maybe you know \u2014 we can talk about it off-air,\u201d Du Plessis said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you we thought that it was happening in the first Test because we were like, \u2018This is ridiculous\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll tell you the edited version, which was just the ball was reversing and we were like, \u2018Let\u2019s get some binoculars and let\u2019s just see who\u2019s getting the ball at least\u2019, and we were just following the ball. <\/p>\n

The Proteas champion said initially they just wanted to take notes on how Aussie bowlers like Mitchell Starc were getting so much reverse swing. <\/p>\n

\"FafFaf Du Plessis has revealed South Africa alerted Super Sport to their suspicions of Australia ball-tampering during the infamous Sandpapergate of 2018. Credit: Super SportBe the first to know: Add 7NEWS as your preferred news source on Google\"Google<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, honestly, reverse swing was part of the game, so you know that there are many ways in trying to reverse swing a ball, but you are actually trying to learn,\u201d Du Plessis said. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re trying to see, like, \u2018What are these guys doing? Is there something we can do here?\u2019 Because the ability to have the ball reverse swing is an art of Test cricket and it\u2019s one of the beset things about Test cricket. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you have a green pitch on day one where the ball\u2019s swinging through the air, day two and three generally it\u2019s good batting conditions, day four and five spin and reverse swing. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo we love the fact that the ball reverse swings. I mean, as a batter, it\u2019s the hardest thing to face, so it\u2019s great for batters that it\u2019s not part of the game (anymore). But it\u2019s a beautiful art, and seeing someone like a Dale Steyn running in with a reverse-swinging ball, I mean, how beautiful? Starc was a jet with a reverse-swinging ball, and in the first Test he blew us away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Once they worked out something wasn\u2019t right, Du Plessis says they sent a \u201cmemo\u201d to Super Sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were two things: we were like, follow the ball, firstly. And it was always going to one guy at mid-off, always to the same guy. And we were like, \u2018OK, so there\u2019s something happening there\u2019. Obviously we don\u2019t know, but it\u2019s just like, follow the ball,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the second thing was, OK, Starc was reverse-swinging the ball so much, so, technically and tactically, what can we do to counter this? Because now we have to look inwardly on how we are going to problem-solve what\u2019s in front of us. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then second Test we went to PE (Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha), and the memo was: follow the ball, just follow the ball, to Super Sport. And that\u2019s what they did; they followed the ball, followed the ball, and they could see that it was still going to someone at mid-off all the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen after tea there was a lot of tape on the fingers and now there was obviously cameras on one guy. I think what happened was, possibly after that game, he would\u2019ve been like, \u2018Look, the camera\u2019s on me, so someone else needs to step up\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"UmpiresUmpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth confronted Cameron Bancroft after he was caught on the big screen with sandpaper in his trousers. Credit: Gallo Images\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Du Plessis himself was twice cited for ball-tampering infringements during his decorated career.<\/p>\n

In 2013, he cost his side five penalty runs was fined 50 per cent of his match fee after pleading guilty to using the zipper on his trousers to tamper with the ball. <\/p>\n

Then again in 2016, the former Proteas skipper was cited for using a mint lolly to get sugar into his saliva which he then used to shine the ball during \u2014 ironically against Australia. <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel for Cameron Bancroft because I went through the exact same thing in my Test career earlier on,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe went to Pakistan, I think I\u2019d played five Test matches, (and) at that stage, you would do anything just to be a part of the Test team and just be one of the boys. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt that stage, we played with zips on our pants, and what we do as cricketers, you try to use your nails to scratch the ball, and I was like, I\u2019ll try, but my nail broke, and I was like, \u2018Guys, I\u2019ve got way too much cream I\u2019ve put on my hands, my nails are soft, it\u2019s not going to work\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, but what else? How do you do this? Oh, there\u2019s a zip, let me try and (use that)\u2018. As I\u2019m doing it, I\u2019m hearing it, and as I look up, I\u2019m going, \u2018Oh my dear\u2019, and it\u2019s on the big screen, the same thing (as Bancroft), that exact same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Sandpapergate in 2018, reverse swing has largely faded out of the game, with countries all around the world struggling to get old balls to reverse, even in favourable conditions. <\/p>\n

\"SteveSteve Smith in tears facing the press in the wake of the infamous saga. Credit: DL BE\/AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

Du Plessis said it\u2019s no coincidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt changed reverse swing. It was basically a line-in-the-sand moment for everyone in the future that was looking at that ball going, \u2018Should I? No, absolutely not\u2019,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just that; even bouncing the ball in. It used to be OK just to bounce the ball in all the time, within the laws of the game, rough the side up. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt one stage, you could even look at the ball, turn it around in your hand, throw it, bounce it on the roughest part of the pitch where the game was played the day before and it was like rocks in the crease. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then it got to the point where you couldn\u2019t look at the ball anymore and then you couldn\u2019t bounce in the ball anymore. Everything in that aspect has just changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith defended Du Plessis after his mint incident in 2016, saying the South Africa batter had done nothing wrong. <\/p>\n

Du Plessis returned the favour for Smith, Warner and Bancroft when asked about Sandpapergate in 2018, and doubled down again this week. <\/p>\n

\u201cI do want to stand up for the guy,\u201d he said of Bancroft. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt happened before them all over the world. It was a normal thing that happened in cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd now, if it\u2019s reverse-swinging, it\u2019s maybe doing a little bit both ways. But if you compare Durban now to Durban in 2018 \u2014 go pull those images up of the amount the ball reverse-swung.\u201d<\/p>\n

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