Australia returned to South Africa eight years after the infamous 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. The team arrived at Kingsmead in Durban, where they once took a 1-0 lead. That tour saw many players get banned and sent home after ugly confrontations. Now, the side faces the shadow of cricket’s darkest controversy.
The last time Australia arrived in South Africa in 2018, they were the Ashes winners. They walked in with the confidence of a side that had just beaten England 4-0 at home. A little over a month later, they left after losing the series 3-1, with their captain and vice-captain banned, three players sent home, and the culture of Australian cricket under serious scrutiny.
Eight years have gone by, and the Aussies have returned to the Rainbow Nation. Remarkably, they stand almost exactly where this story started. The opening Test of the tour will be played at Kingsmead in Durban, the same venue where they had taken a 1-0 lead eight years ago. By the time this series reaches its culmination, the Australian side will return to the venue that remained a witness to one of cricket’s most infamous scandals.
The 2018 Australia tour of South Africa is almost entirely remembered for Sandpapergate. What has actually escaped most of our memories is how much had already transpired in the series before Cameron Bancroft ever pulled out a small yellow thing from his pocket.
Australia had taken a 1-0 lead at Durban by winning the first Test by 118 runs on the back of a nine-wicket haul in the match from Mitchell Starc. But the temperature of the series was already on the rise. Nathan Lyon had been fined for dropping the ball near AB de Villiers following his run-out, and then David Warner and Quinton de Kock had one of the ugliest confrontations in the players’ staircase. The Australian had to be restrained by his teammates, and both players were later sanctioned.
Then Port Elizabeth added more fuel. South Africa apologised after officials were photographed with spectators wearing Sonny Bill Williams masks aimed at Warner and his family. On the field, it was Kagiso Rabada who dominated the visitors with 11 wickets in the match. With the bat, AB de Villiers scored 126 not out as South Africa won the match and levelled the series.
Rabada was then suspended for shoulder contact with Steve Smith. The ban was, however, overturned on appeal. By the time the caravan proceeded to Cape Town, the air had become increasingly combustible. The series was simmering.