Australia bowlers deny involvement in Cape Town ball-tampering

Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon release a joint statement in response to comments made by Cameron Bancroft regarding the Newlands Test

Cricket Australia's ball-tampering bans employed faux shock and awe... they should never have been upheld

THE CRICKETER'S MOMENTS OF 2018: Ball-tampering overload

The Australia ball-tampering affair from 2018 continues to re-gather pace after the bowling attack from Cape Town attacked the "rumour-mongering" sparked by fresh comments made by Cameron Bancroft.

In an interview with The Guardian the 28-year-old, who was banned from cricket for nine months for his involvement after he rubbed the ball with sandpaper, hinted the bowlers were aware of the plot concocted by the leadership group.

Then-captain Steve Smith and right-hand man David Warner both confessed to being involved and were banned for 12 months each, but a Cricket Australia investigation cleared all other players and support staff.

The scandal has gained fresh traction following Bancroft's remarks but the bowling battery from that South Africa Test, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon have released a statement in an effort to quash the latest allegations.

"We pride ourselves on our honesty," the statement read. "So it's been disappointing to see that our integrity has been questioned by some journalists and past players in recent days in regard to the Cape Town Test of 2018.

"We have already answered questions many times on this issue, but we feel compelled to put the key facts on the record again:

"We did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands

"And to those who, despite the absence of evidence, insist that 'we must have known' about the use of a foreign substance simply because we are bowlers, we say this: The umpires during that Test match, Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth, both very respected and experienced umpires, inspected the ball after the images surfaced on the TV coverage and did not change it because there was no sign of damage.

"None of this excuses what happened on the field that day at Newlands. It was wrong and it should never have happened.

"We've all learned valuable lessons and we'd like to think the public can see a change for the better in terms of the way we play, the way we behave and respect the game. Our commitment to improving as people and players will continue.

"We respectfully request an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo.

"It has gone on too long and it is time to move on."