Smith took the 'sandpaper gate' blame to save his team: Flintoff

Andrew Flintoff, England's former all-rounder, believes that the entire Australian team were involved in the infamous 'sandpaper gate' ball-tampering scandal and that the then captain, Steve Smith, took the blame upon himself to save the integrity of the rest of his teammates.

Steve Smith, vice captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft were later banned from the sport; the first two were divested of their leadership roles (Smith for two years, life ban for Warner) besides a one-year ban while Bancroft was suspended for a period of nine months, after Cricket Australia (CA) conducted its own enquiry into the sordid drama that took place during the third Test of the South African tour in Cape Town.

Smith and Warner served their one year ban and were back into the national team during the 2019 World Cup while Bancroft was part of Australia's Ashes squad against England, played in the immediate conclusion of the World Cup. However Flintoff believes that the ball can't be tampered by individuals without the knowledge of the others in the team.

"Sandpaper is wrong, but it's stupid more than anything. But I can't believe that everyone in the team wasn't involved in some way or another," Flintoff said in a show with Talksport on Wednesday (April 22). "I can't believe that the whole team wasn't in on it. As a bowler, if someone gives me a ball that's been tampered with, I know immediately. One of the things that Steve Smith did is take the blame for everyone else," he added.

Flintoff, who featured in 79 Tests and 141 One-day internationals for England, feels the problem of ball-tampering has been festering for too long and every team has been found wanting in that aspect. "Things like ball-tampering have gone on for a long, long time and I think it's just the degrees where you take it. We were accused of putting sweets on the ball. People put suncream on it, tried everything they could," the ace all-rounder concluded.