GRITTY PAST: In the shadow of ‘Sandpapergate’, Australia are back in SA for overdue Test series

{JSON.stringify(article.attachments[0], null, 2)} --> Australia and South Africa resume Test hostilities on local soil for the first time since 2018 when they clash at Kingsmead in Durban, starting on Friday.

Can it really be eight years since Quinton de Kock and David Warner engaged in a heated exchange on the Kingsmead stairwell, with Faf du Plessis, wearing only a towel, readying himself for a scrap?

Warner found Quinton’s surname to be particularly amusing. In retaliation, something was said about Warner’s wife, adding fuel to the simmering fire.

De Kock was responsible for running out Proteas star batter AB de Villiers when attempting a badly judged run, which was exacerbated by Nathan Lyon dropping the ball on De Villiers while he was sprawled on the ground. The Aussies let both of them have it, and the taunting of De Kock continued before it reached boiling point on the stairwell.

Is it really eight years since Kagiso Rabada brushed shoulders with Steve Smith after dismissing the Aussie captain in the second Test at St George’s Park? Rabada was at his fiery best, taking 11 wickets in the match, which the Proteas won by six wickets to level the series.

Rabada, though, was hauled into a disciplinary hearing and faced the prospect of missing the rest of the series for his altercation with Smith.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) didn’t stand idly by and roped in advocate-to-the-stars Dali Mpofu to defend their man . Rabada played the next two Tests.

With the series at 1-1 and tempers frayed, the third Test of a spiteful series in Cape Town was always going to be eventful. It’s just that no one could predict the events that unfolded on day three, with Australia under pressure.

There was a lingering suspicion that Australia had been deploying nefarious methods on the ball during the first two Tests to generate reverse swing.

The umpires informally asked the host broadcaster to keep an eye out for anything untoward that might be unnaturally altering the state of the ball.

Forewarned, SuperSport’s crew captured Cameron Bancroft using a square of yellow paper (later revealed to be sandpaper) to tamper with the ball as the Proteas piled on runs in their second innings. Australia were desperate for wickets and didn’t immediately grasp the gravity of what was being beamed to the world.

After the day’s play, Smith and Bancroft attended the media conference and admitted to tampering with the ball, but not to using sandpaper.

“We’ve seen the ball reversing through this series, and this ball didn't seem like it was going to go,” said Smith. “It’s such poor actions.”

It soon became apparent that the Aussies had been caught red-handed in one of cricket’s biggest sins and the fallout was immediate. Smith and Warner – the captain and vice-captain – were stood down from their positions during the match, with wicketkeeper Tim Paine assuming the leadership duties.