Follow UsRivalry? Controversy? Cat and mouse game?
You think about these three terms, and your mind automatically takes you to the rivalry between South Africa and Australia, which has ruled the past two decades. While both sides have had their fair share of dominance, their rivalry was the reason behind the most controversial thing that happened in the last decade – the Sandpaper Gate.
The incident happened during the third Test in the 2018 series between South Africa and Australia in Cape Town, where Australian opener Cameron Bancroft was seen scuffing the ball using a ‘sandpaper’, an illegal substance to help the bowlers. The entire incident was caught on camera, as all three involved, Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith were banned for a year.
Recalling that incident and series, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada said the intense rivalry brought out the best in both teams.
“I think I might have been 22 or 23, and that series is one that I will never forget. I feel like Australia always gets the best out of South Africa because of a similar playing style. In terms of intensity, we are pretty similar, and similar bowling attacks as well,” Rabada told Adil Rashid on his podcast, ‘Beard Before Cricket’.
“The conditions in South Africa have a bit of Australian-ness to them, in terms of pace and bounce. If anything, South Africa does have conditions where there is turn on offer as well,” he added.
Australia won the first Test, where the intense on-field rivalry between the two sides, including a scuffle between David Warner and Quinton de Kock, had already made headlines. Rabada revealed how the South African side went into the second Test calm and knew that they would turn things around.
“You have like-for-like teams with a similar playing style, in your face. Nothing needed to get us up for that. I remember they won the first Test. AB de Villiers organised a small trip to St Francis before the second Test. All we needed was just one more day of training, and we could get into the second Test. Aiden [Markram] scored a really good hundred, and we ended up losing that game,” he added.
“Everything just changed in Port Elizabeth. In Cape Town, that’s where the sandpaper gate happened, AB [de Villiers] was batting, and we were bossing the game. We noticed the camera going towards David Warner’s hands, and I was sort of wondering why, and the rest is history. [Cameron] Bancroft ended up putting the sticky tape in his pants, and it was unfortunate.”
Rabada also revealed how the atmosphere out in the middle was intense, with the two teams nearly getting into a physical altercation.
“Both teams wanted to fight against each other; it was very competitive. It may not come out that way, but we forgot about everything else and zoned in on the game.”
Eventually, South Africa ended up winning the series 3-1, extending their dominance over Australia in the longest format.
(Image Courtesy: Sky Sports)