Pat Cummins Talks ‘Hostility’ Ahead of South Africa Return
Australia skipper Pat Cummins expects his team to confront animosity when they return to South Africa for their first Test visit since the infamous Sandpaper Gate affair of 2018.
Australia is slated to play three ODIs and three Tests in South Africa. While the Australians have continued to travel the country for white-ball cricket since the ball-tampering scandal, the next Test series will mark their first red-ball assignment since the event.
Pat Cummins is currently not a member of Australia’s ODI squad in Zimbabwe, but will join the team in South Africa for the one-day series before the Test season begins on October 9.
Pat Cummins predicts some hostility in South Africa.
Pat Cummins admitted on the Keepin’ it Cricket podcast that the 2018 incident could potentially be brought up by members of the South African audience. However, he does not anticipate the mood to be significantly more intense than what Australia experienced during the Ashes series.
Pat Cummins has already faced South African crowds on white-ball trips and was a significant performer for Australia during the 2018 Test series against the Proteas. The Australian captain believes his team has seen similar scenarios before and does not anticipate anything altogether new when the three-Test series begins.
‘Everyone moves on’, says the Australian captain
Pat Cummins also suggested that the reaction to the Sandpaper Gate affair may be less fierce than anticipated. He recalled that the topic had garnered a lot of attention during prior meetings between the two sides, but he thought the reaction from South African fans was very lacking.
The Australian captain believes that once the series begins, his squad will be able to move on from the controversy.
Australia still has six players in their current lineup that were part of the squad that lost the 2018 Test series 1-3 to South Africa. The ball-tampering controversy resulted in year-long suspensions for Steve Smith and David Warner, as well as a nine-month suspension for Cameron Bancroft.
