No grudges: South Africa and Australia play their first Test series since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal
(Picture: Getty Images)Dean Elgar says South Africa’s Test series against Australia will be “feisty” but “better controlled” than their infamous last meeting four years ago, as both captains played down any lingering ‘sandpaper-gate’ grudge.
The two sides meet at the Gabba on Saturday at the start of a three-Test series, the first long-format game between the nations since Australia’s 2018 tour to South Africa.
The two sets of players were at loggerheads throughout that series and Australian batters David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and then captain Steve Smith were eventually sent home in disgrace for their part in the ball-tampering scandal exposed during the third Test at Newlands.
"There will be moments, no doubt, where there will be a few feisty encounters but hopefully it doesn't reach the stage that we experienced in 2018," Elgar said. "What's happened in the past happened. There are no grudges. We know they want to win and we want to win. There will always be a moment where egos and the heat of the moment gets to the guys but I think it will be better controlled this time.
"If they've got added issues with regards to [what happened] then that's their thing, but with regards to my team we haven't spoken about it once. It's history for us.”
Australia attempted to rebrand their cricketing ethos in the wake of the scandal and have risen to the top of the World Test Championship standings under Pat Cummins.
However, six of the side the featured at Newlands are set to be involved at the Gabba and ‘sandpaper-gate’ is back in the news following Warner’s aborted attempt to have the lifetime leadership ban imposed as punishment lifted.
"We've all moved on," Cummins insisted. "I don't think we're probably as abrasive as we've been in the past. It's working for us.
“How we are off the field is pretty similar to what we play on the field I think - calm, very chill, just enjoying it out there, really competitive. And we've done that really well over the last 12 months."
