Australia captain Pat Cummins expects the Test team could encounter some hostility when it returns to South Africa for its first red-ball tour there since the infamous Sandpaper Gate scandal of 2018.Australia are scheduled to play three ODIs and three Tests in South Africa. Although the Australians have continued to visit the country for white-ball cricket since the ball-tampering controversy, the upcoming Test series will mark their first in South Africa since the incident.Cummins is currently not with Australia for the three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe but will link up with the squad in South Africa for the one-dayers before the Test campaign begins on October 9.
Cummins expects some hostility in South Africa
Speaking on the Keepin’ it Cricket podcast, Cummins acknowledged that the 2018 episode could still be brought up by sections of the home support.“There might be a little bit of hostility,” Cummins admitted. “(But) it can’t be louder than an Ashes series … Birmingham, the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, that gets pretty rowdy.”The Australian skipper has already experienced South African crowds during previous white-ball tours and was also one of the standout performers during Australia’s 2018 Test series against the Proteas.He does not expect anything completely unfamiliar when Australia return for the three-Test contest.“As long as I’ve been to South Africa, there are some parts of the crowd that get stuck in, but I reckon we’ve seen it all before.“And most importantly, I’m captain, so I’m in the middle; I’m not near the fence!”
‘Everyone moves on’, says Australian captain
Cummins also suggested that the reaction to Sandpaper Gate may not be as intense as some might expect. He recalled that the issue had been heavily discussed during previous encounters but felt the response from South African fans was ultimately less dramatic than anticipated.“It (Sandpapergate) was kind of really spoken up (in past series), and it was almost a bit underwhelming,” Cummins said about the reaction from Proteas fans.For Cummins, the best way to move beyond the controversy will be to focus on the cricket once the series gets underway.“Everyone moves on. The good thing is, three Tests, you get stuck into the cricket, and everyone just worries about the cricket pretty quickly.“I’m sure there’ll be some rowdy people in the crowd, and some articles or some media bring up stuff. But our group’s moved on,” he added.Australia still have six players in their current setup who were part of the squad that lost the 2018 series 1-3 to South Africa. The tour became one of the darkest episodes in Australian cricket after the ball-tampering scandal led to year-long bans for Steve Smith and David Warner, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
Cummins rejects preparation excuse after Bangladesh loss
Cummins also reflected on Australia’s recent defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin, their first home loss to the Bangla Tigers.The result prompted questions over whether Australia had been adequately prepared for the series, but Cummins dismissed that suggestion.“Whether that was an Ashes Test or a Bangladesh series, I think we would have prepped exactly the same. Of course you look at it after the series, but I actually thought we were in a really good spot; everyone fit, firing.”The Australian captain accepted, however, that his side simply failed to perform at the required level in Darwin.“I just don’t think we played very well. I don’t think it was a lack of prep. I just don’t think we were at our best, and Bangladesh played brilliantly, and didn’t really let us in,” he added.
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