Bancroft on Ball Tampering saga: “I just wanted to fit in and feel valued really”

Bancroft on Ball Tampering saga: The Australian opening batsman opened up on why exactly did he agree to tamper with the ball.

Australia opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, who was one of the three cricketers involved in the Ball Tampering saga from the Cape Town Test earlier this year, is eligible to play for Australia once again for his nine-month ban has ended.

In a recent exclusive interview with former Australia wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist for Fox Sports, the 26-year old opened up on why exactly did he agree to tamper with the ball at Cape Town.

In which was a case of something suggested to him by a senior player, Bancroft didn’t want to let him down by not indulging in something which might change the course of the match for his team.

“Dave [David 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. I didn’t know any better because I just wanted to fit in and feel valued really. As simple as that,” Bancroft said.

Speaking his heart out, Bancroft blamed his value system for agreeing to do the same. “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,” he further said.

Not considering himself as a victim, Bancroft opined that it was ‘massive mistake’ on his part. “I take no other responsibility but the responsibility I have on myself and my own actions because I am not a victim. I had a choice and I made a massive mistake and that is what is in my control,” he added.

Swayed by the idea of his act changing the course of the match, Bancroft further added that had he not done it, he would have felt that he let the team down. “I would have gone to bed and I would have felt like I had let everybody down. I would have felt like I had let the team down. I would have left like I had hurt our chances to win the game of cricket,” he concluded.

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