Sandpapergate

 Sorry everyone but I feel I have to address this issue more fully as some people are telling porkies.

Let us get down to basics. It is bowlers who determine who shines the cricket ball and how they do it. If you  give this job to a novice he could muck it up and thus the ball will do nothing and the bowlers are worse off. The person allocated to do something to the ball in SA was one Cameron Bancroft. In test terms he was a novice. The bowlers would make sure he knew exactly what to do or were told by someone they trusted he knew what to do.

What is more when they saw the ball being changed they would either ask questions or know the plan was working.

The context here is the kookaburra was not swinging much alah orthodox swing  but the SA bowlers were using reverse swing much better than the aussies. Also important here is shine on one part of the ball also assists the  orthodox spinner with their arm ball as well as swerve for all spinners.

Thus the bowlers in that test would most certainly had known what was going on  and it is highly likely the 'plan' would have been discussed in the dressing room.

Having said all that I always believed the punishment was far bigger than the crime.

From where I sit I see no reason to disbelieve Uzzie at all. Please do not say it was for book sales because 1) he won't make money from the book 2) he is already very well off as his wealth is in the millions.