Harry Brook insists he never witnessed ball tampering as Sandpapergate resurfaces

England captain Harry Brook said he had never witnessed ball-tampering in his cricketing career as the 2018 controversy surrounding Australia’s Sandpapergate scandal returned to the headlines ahead of the white-ball series between the two sides.

The issue resurfaced after the release of the former Australian batter Usman Khawaja’s new book that brought new attention to the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town. Australia were at the center of a major controversy during the third Test against South Africa in March 2018 when Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Brook was around 17 or 18 at the time and had yet to make his international debut. When asked about his own ball-tampering experience ahead of the first ODI in Perth, the England captain made it clear that he had never seen such an incident.

“I’d never seen any ball tampering before. I wasn’t in that Australian dressing room. I think I was about 17 or 18 so I’d completely forgotten about any of it,” Brook said.

As England prepared for eight white-ball matches against their old rivals, Brook wanted to focus on cricket rather than be drawn into the controversy.

“We’re here in Australia, we’re looking forward to this series and all we can do is focus on ourselves and prepare as best we can. We’re just trying to focus on ourselves at the moment. That’s all we can do. We’re here to play against a strong Australian side in their backyard,” he added.

Joe Root, who was England captain when the Sandpapergate scandal broke, was also asked to train a day earlier. The former captain rejected the suggestion that ball-tampering was widespread in international cricket at the time.

“I can only speak from my own experience and I don’t feel that way, no,” Root said.

BROOK, MARSH SHARE A LIGHT MOMENT

Controversy aside, Brook and Australia captain Mitchell Marsh attended a hilarious promotional event ahead of the start of the ODIs. The two were pictured enjoying mock afternoon tea on the outfield, a relaxed start to a rivalry that was particularly heated during last year’s Ashes.

Brook admitted he was caught off guard by the unusual encounter, but welcomed the opportunity to start the series on a positive note.

“I wasn’t expecting to have tea with him, that’s for sure, but yeah, it’s a nice way to start the series,” he said.

England will return to Optus Stadium, the venue where their previous Ashes campaign began. Brook recalled the atmosphere on the field and said his team was looking forward to playing there again.

“Australia v England is always a good series and we’re looking forward to getting it started. We’re really happy to be out here. We’re all really looking forward to going to Optus Stadium where the last Ashes started. It’s an amazing place to play cricket. The atmosphere when we played here was incredible,” he added.

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