David Warner and Australians unmoved by new Sandpapergate revelations
New claims about the sandpaper scandal in 2018 from a former South African captain won’t distract Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign.
David Warner and his Australian teammates have been unmoved by new revelations about the sandpaper scandal by former South African captain Faf du Plessis and won’t let them derail their World Cup campaign.
Claims about Warner’s role in the ball tampering affair of 2018, which earnt the veteran opener a lifetime leadership ban, surfaced across the weekend among excerpts from du Plessis’ soon-to-be-released autobiography.
The former South Africa skipper wrote that he and his teammates suspected Australian players were tampering with the ball several weeks before the cheating was exposed in Cape Town.
Du Plessis, who has retired from international cricket and went unselected as a marquee player in the inaugural Big Bash draft, said they even used binoculars to see what the Australians were doing to get the ball reverse swinging, with a strong focus on Warner.
“When we noticed that the ball was going to David Warner quite often, our changing room must have looked like a birdwatching hide as we peered intently through our binoculars,” du Plessis wrote in the book.
The revelations came as Australia’s T20 World Cup defence got off to an ugly start, Warner making just five in the opening loss to New Zealand.
But all-rounder Mitch Marsh, who said he “wasn’t a big reader” so was unaware of the new claims, said Warner wouldn’t be distracted.
“Anytime we’ve seen him with his back against the wall, he always stands up for us,” Marsh said.
“What he does is amazing. He‘s been an incredible person to have around our group. He’s a great leader.
“And he’s just got so much energy. He’s our unofficial team manager.
“He’s had an amazing career and he’s clearly been able to block out a lot of distractions throughout that, and that’s what separates the best players in the world from the rest.
“They solely focus on their job. For him it‘s been scoring runs and providing energy for our group, and he’s been able to do it for 15 years. It’s incredible.”
Marsh was confident the du Plessis claims had barely made a ripple in the playing group.
“I’m not a big reader, so I’m not sure what’s come out there,” Marsh said in Perth on Monday.
“I haven‘t seen anything or read anything.
“We‘ve got a World Cup to focus on as a group; we’re solely focused on that.
“And we‘re a really close group and tight-knit group, so I’m just looking forward to the next couple of weeks.”
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