Warner encouraged me to tamper with ball: Bancroft

TIL Desk Sports/ Banned Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft on Wednesday revealed that it was David Warner, who encouraged him to tamper with the ball in the ill-fated Cape Town Test, and he did it since he wanted to “fit in” and feel “valued” in the team.  

Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban while Warner and then skipper Steve Smith were handed one-year bans by Cricket Australia in exemplary punishment for their role in ball-tampering scandal in March this year.

“Dave (Warner) suggested to me to carry the action out on the ball given the situation we were in the game and I didn’t know any better,” Bancroft said in an interview, conducted by former cricketer Adam Gilchrist.

“I didn’t know any better because I just wanted to fit in and feel valued really. As simple as that,” Bancroft who is days away from completing his ban, said. However, he also admitted that he was guided by his own distorted values in making the horrendous decision.

“The decision was based around my values, what I valued at the time and I valued fitting in you hope that fitting in earns you respect and with that, I guess, there came a pretty big cost for the mistake.”  Bancroft was candid enough to own up the mistake he made.