Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist feels Cricket Australia (CA) needed to carry out a more thorough investigation into Sandpaper Gate when it happened and it is due to this reason that the matter will resurface time and again.
Gilchrist’s comment came after opening batsman Cameron Bancroft recently alleged that the Australian bowlers were also aware of the ball-tampering plot and it was not just him and then skipper Steve Smith, veteran opener David Warner.
"It will linger forever, whether it is someone's book or an ad hoc interview," Gilchrist said on SEN's Gilly and Goss podcast, as reported by Fox Sports.
"Eventually I think names will be named. I think there are some people who have it stored away and are ready to pull the trigger when the time is right.
"I think Cricket Australia are responsible for why this will be continually asked. When they did their investigation at the time they had Patty Howard the high-performance general manager, Iain Roy was the integrity officer.
"They went there and did this very quick review of that isolated incident and perhaps no one in the team knew. Perhaps Cam (Bancroft) did grab the sandpaper on his own accord and walked out there and did not tell anyone.
"There was an opportunity for CA if they were going to make such a strong statement they needed to do a more thorough investigation to work out where the root of the problem was.
"Anyone would be naive to think people were not aware with what was going on about ball maintenance. I don't think Cricket Australia wanted to go there. They did not want to go any deeper than that superficial example of ball tampering. They did not investigate to see whether it was systemic had it been going on and on and on. Around the cricketing globe it was widely accepted a lot of teams were doing it."
Australian cricket was shaken to the core after cameras had caught Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball on Day 3 of the Cape Town test in 2018. As a result, then captain Smith and his deputy Warner were handed 12-month bans while Bancroft copped a nine-month suspension under Cricket Australia's Code of Conduct.
According to Bancroft, it was 'probably self-explanatory' whether the bowlers were aware that the ball was being tampered with.
"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 said to the Guardian interviewer Donald McRae as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
"I guess one thing I learnt through the journey and being responsible is that's where the buck stops [with Bancroft himself]. Had I had better awareness I would have made a much better decision," he added.
When he was further stressed, Bancroft replied: "Uh... yeah, look, I think, yeah, I think it's pretty probably self-explanatory."
After serving their bans, Smith and Warner have made a successful comeback to international cricket. On the other hand, Bancroft is yet to find his feet at the highest level, though, he featured in the 2019 Ashes series.
(With ANI inputs)
