The ball tampering scandal which happened in 2018 when Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera while using a sandpaper on the cricket ball, had been put to bed after Bancroft along with skipper Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were banned for this offence.

But the incident is back in spotlight after Bancroft’s recent statement suggesting the Australian bowlers knew about a foreign object being used on the ball. Former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels there are still some cracks in Australian cricket being the reason behind this controversy resurfacing.

“Dragging up the ball-tampering scandal has shown there are cracks in the Australia team. David Warner, Steve Smith and the bowlers are under scrutiny again, and it would only take a poor Australia performance in the first Ashes Test for the pressure to mount,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

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“The captain, Tim Paine, is under the microscope after defeat by India, and while some think this could galvanise Australia, rarely are such public problems good for a team's unity. Joe Root will be enjoying this and thinking it could help. He knows an argument or two in the opposing team is always good,” he added.

After Bancroft’s statement came out, Vaughan said that there were not many professional cricketers he spoke to who believed that the bowlers did not know about the sandpaper gate.

“Not many former professionals I have spoken to believe something like that would be confined to just three people. There might be some in a dressing room who may not like it and disagree with a course of action, but say nothing because they do not want to go against the captain. I can see how that happens,” the Englishman said.

(With ANI inputs)