Former South Africa pacer Fanie de Villiers, who now serves as a broadcaster for broadcasting giant SuperSport Television.
He made an interesting claim to instruct the camera crew to look out for the attempt of ball tampering on the field.
Fanie’s statement came to the fore after having the suspicion of the visitors have been relying on the devious act.
However, the former Proteas cricketer turned a spot in owing to his instruction to the cameramen. The unfortunate incident unfolded in the penultimate Test at Newlands.
“We actually said to our cameramen, ‘”go out [and] have a look, boys. They’re using something,” Fanie spoke to RSN Radio on March 26.
The 53-year old Fanie in his interview further revealed he questioned straightaway the reverse swing which Australian got when South African was batting.
He reiterated it would not have been possible until the fielding team was trying to do something with the ball.
“I said earlier on, that if they could get reverse swing in the 26th, 27th, 28th over then they are doing something different from what everyone else does,” Fanie maintained.
On day three of the Cape Town Test, Tv camera caught Australian opener, Cameron Bancroft while rubbing the ball with his trousers.
However, it has been not an easy task for the cameramen. They had to toil hard to make the footage available. Bancroft was tracked down for altering the condition of the ball.
“They searched for an hour and a half until they saw something and then they started following Bancroft and they actually caught him out at the end,” Fanie asserted.
However, using the tape to rough up the ball stirred up the controversy. Bancroft’s admission alongside skipper Steven Smith further worsened things for the Kangaroos.
While talking the right means into consideration during the bowling procedure, Fanie believes it wouldn’t have been possible for Australia to reverse the ball too early.
“I said earlier on, that if they could get reverse swing in the 26th, 27th, 28th over. then they are doing something different from what everyone else does,” Fanie added.
On the other hand, Australian cricketers including Smith also admitted the offence.
ICC delivered the verdict in next 12 hours. Smith is facing the suspension of the one-match Test ban. Bancroft is handed over three demerit points with 75 percent match fee as a charge.
Fanie de Villiers, who himself has experience with old-ball. He further remarked it has been not possible to witness the ball getting naturally altered on grassy surfaces.
Right-arm Pacer Fanie while believing Pakistani wickets have the cracks on the 22-yard surface could somewhat play a little role.
“It’s impossible for the ball to get altered. like that on cricket wickets where we knew there was grass on, not a Pakistani wicket where there’s cracks every centimetre,” Fanie concluded.
In addition, following the fiasco of ball tampering, the leadership role came under question. It further saw Smith stood down alongside David Warner.
Pertinently, Fanie at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1993-94 won it for South Africa with his remarkable bowling. He played 83 One-day Internationals, 18 Tests in which he bagged 180 wickets in the international fold.
Here’s the newsfeed:
SA vs AUS 2018: Cameron Bancroft Would Do Anything for the Team – Adam Voges
ICC suspends Steven Smith for a Test; Cameron Bancroft charged with match fee
