{
  "id": 8014478,
  "title": "Steve Smith still haunted by ‘Sandpapergate’ ahead of Tests against South Africa",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/steve-smith-still-haunted-by-sandpapergate-ahead-of-tests-against",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-17T11:10:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Citizen",
    "slug": "the-citizen",
    "url": "https://www.citizen.co.za/sport/cricket/steve-smith-still-haunted-by-sandpapergate-ahead-of-tests-against-south-africa/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Australia captain Steve Smith admits he is still haunted by the 2018 \"Sandpapergate\" ball-tampering scandal, which led to his banishment from the sport. The incident saw Smith sent home in disgrace, banned for a year, and sacked as captain after allegedly conspiring with teammates to alter the ball using sandpaper during a Test match in Cape Town. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, both considered key conspirators, received lighter sentences, with Warner suspended for a year and Bancroft facing a nine-month ban.\n\nAs he prepares for the first Test against South Africa in Durban on October 9, Smith admits that flashbacks to that traumatic period still affect him. He recalls the anxiety of being mobbed by cameras at Johannesburg airport and the harrowing press conference he had to endure upon his return to Australia. \"I'm not a big fan of cameras... That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that in a way,\" Smith told News Corp.\n\nDespite the trauma, Smith has bounced back strongly, smashing a century against England upon his return and amassing 10,920 Test runs at an average of 56. He acknowledges that the 2018 period was difficult, particularly in the immediate aftermath, but believes he has learned from it and moved forward. \"It was certainly a difficult period, particularly the initial period a few days after,\" Smith said. \"The mental state I was in was not great. That's somewhere I'd like not to get to again, but I certainly learned from that and have been able to move forward with my life.\"\n\nSmith, now 37, is preparing for a Test series in South Africa, where he will face hostile crowds accustomed to abusing visiting Australian players. However, the experienced batsman is undeterred, having faced similar abuse during multiple Ashes tours to England. \"I've copped a lot at times away from home at different venues across my career and it's something that I take in my own stride,\" he said. \"I use it as motivation to try and go out and do well and try and take a positive from it.\"",
  "summary": "The former captain Smith will be back in South Africa in the coming days for a three-Test series.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}