Bancroft under scanner after suspicious work on ball

The high-voltage Test series between South Africa and Australia got marred by another controversy on day three of the CapeTown Test. After the visitors on Friday laid an official complaint over what coach Darren Lehmann labelled "disgraceful" behaviour by spectators during the third Test against, Australian opener Cameron Bancroft on Saturday was accused of tampering with the ball.

New Delhi: The high-voltage Test series between South Africa and Australia got marred by another controversy on day three of the CapeTown Test. After the visitors on Friday laid an official complaint over what coach Darren Lehmann labelled "disgraceful" behaviour by spectators during the third Test against, Australian opener Cameron Bancroft on Saturday was accused of tampering with the ball.

The incident came into light during the 43rd over of South Africa’s second inning when Cameron Bancroft was spotted doing something fishy with the ball on cameras. The first video footage showed Bancroft rubbing the ball on his trousers which the bowler regularly do to shine the ball from one end. Eye brows were raised when the second footage showed the fielder holding a tiny yellow 'chip-like' object in his other hand along with the ball. Bancroft later took out the foreign object from his pocket and flung inside his trouser. The on-field umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth upon spotting that had a chat with Bancroft.

Before the umpires intervened, Proteas skipper Faf who saw the incident on television in the dressing room gestured to his team-mates that Bancroft was using an external object perhaps to alter the condition of the ball.

Pacer Dale Steyn who has been out of the series due to injury too tweeted the image of Bancroft putting the yellow object in his trousers.

Though the umpires did not change the ball after the protest from the South Africans but the act has brought the Australian under heavy scrutiny. If found guilty by the match officials, Bancroft can face a ban of up to two matches as per ICC rules.

There were boos from a capacity crowd at Newlands when the incident was shown on the big screen at the ground

In the two Tests played so far, numerous incidents of ICC code-of-conduct breach have already taken place. Apart from the never ending on-field verbal jibes incidents of Lyon ball-drop, stairwell stoush between Warner- De Kock, Rabada-Smith shoulder contact have been the unwanted highlights of the high-voltage series.