‘Might be little bit of hostility’: Cummins on Australia’s first SA tour after Sandpaper gate

New Delhi, Sep 15 (SocialNews.XYZ) Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins feels that Australia might have to face "a little bit of hostility" when the Aussies head to South Africa for their first Test tour since the infamous Sandpaper gate incident in 2018.

The Aussies will now be touring South Africa for three ODIs and as many Tests. While they have previously played white-ball cricket in South Africa, this is their first red-ball series since that 2018 incident.

While Australia are currently in Zimbabwe for three ODIs, Cummins will be joining the team in South Africa for the one-dayers before the Tests begin on October 9.

"There might be a little bit of hostility," Cummins admitted during the Keepin’ it Cricket podcast. "(But) it can't be louder than an Ashes series … Birmingham, the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, that gets pretty rowdy."

Cummins opened up about his previous experience playing in South Africa on white-ball tours and being the standout performer in the 2018 Test series. "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!"

However, he believes that the dust would have settled by now, as focus will remain on cricket once the first ball is thrown. "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.

"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 have six survivors from that infamous 1-3 loss to the Proteas, as the ball-tampering issue put Australian cricket in very dark clouds, leading to bans of the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner for a year and Cameron Bancroft for nine months.

Meanwhile, the Aussie skipper also spoke on the recent loss to Bangladesh in Darwin, their first to the Bangla Tigers at home, as he brushed aside the talk of a lack of preparation for the series.

"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.

He admitted that the team was not at its best 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.

Source: IANS