How an 'absolute fluke' exposed sandpapergate scandal

According to the man who helped catch them, it was blind luck.

Sandpapergate, the scandal that engulfed Australia eight years ago, was blatant cheating played out in real time on live television to a global audience.

As the Aussies prepare for their first Test series in South Africa since the ball-tampering controversy in Cape Town, the director of the TV coverage that day admits serendipity took down Steve Smith and co.

"The way the Australians were caught was an absolute fluke," Alvin Naicker, in charge of SuperSport's live broadcast from Newlands, tells BBC Sport.

Not just one fluke, but a series of them.

That the "leadership group" of the Australian team hatched their plan during the lunch break on that Saturday afternoon in March 2018; that an alert camera operator lingered on Cameron Bancroft when others would have turned their attention elsewhere; that the big-screen controller showed in the ground what was also being broadcast to millions around the world.

In understanding how Bancroft was rumbled, a little knowledge of how live cricket is shown on TV is helpful.

"Coverage of rugby and football is very coordinated. It's camera one and two, then when the ball is dead you tell the story with close-up shots," explains Naicker, a highly respected and popular figure in the TV industry with more than 30 years' experience.

"Because cricket has so much dead time, there is a lot more storytelling. There are between 80 and 100 people coming together and putting the story together in a matter of seconds, coordinated by the director."

Captain Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Bancroft later explained they cooked up the ball-tampering plot during lunch on the third day of the third Test.

Reverse-swing had been a key factor in the first two Tests of a bad-tempered series: Warner clashed with Quinton de Kock in the first Test in Durban, then Smith was involved in an altercation with Kagiso Rabada in the second.

Australia were exposed before the afternoon session was done, thanks to Naicker and his team. At the time, SuperSport were not on the lookout for cheating, despite the shenanigans of the first two Tests.

"No one mentioned anything to me," says Naicker. "The first Test in Durban spiralled out of control in terms of behaviour, then in Port Elizabeth for the second Test, there were still some fireworks going on. We still didn't understand."

Reports written live by ESPNCricinfo suggest the ball began reversing in the first hour after lunch, 35 overs into the South Africa second innings. In the 43rd over, Bancroft was caught in the act.

"The ball went to the wicketkeeper, then to Bancroft and he was shining the ball," says Naicker. "First it was on his pants, then the next ball, the cameraman happened to stay on Bancroft because he was not shining the ball on his pants, but he was rubbing the ball on his palm.

"When he threw the ball on, he put his hand in his pocket. The cameraman - and these are big, big lens cameras - he zoomed into his pocket. The slow-mo operator looked at it, spooled it back and forth, then zoomed in and could see the yellow spot."

Bancroft's work on the ball was not shown live, but as a replay later in the over. Inside Newlands, the operator of the big screen – working independently from Naicker – showed the same footage.

"They take a feed from broadcast but they also have to insert their own graphics and commercialisation," says Naicker.

"Between deliveries they tend to stay with live play, then at the end of the over they go to their commercials or whatever in the stadium. It was quite fortunate that when we showed it, it was in between deliveries, not at the end of the over."

Bancroft would later admit he "panicked" when he saw himself on the big screen. Comically, he hid the sandpaper inside his trousers. SuperSport caught that, too.

"When Bancroft looked up at the screen and saw it, he removed it and put it in his jocks," says Naicker. "The cameraman recorded it. It still wasn't live, we played a replay."

Bancroft, with Smith by his side, was challenged by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong.

The opener turned out his pockets, revealing only a black bag for his sunglasses. The ball was not changed and Australia were not given a run penalty. Play continued, yet SuperSport were on to what had happened.

"Australia coach Darren Lehmann was on the walkie-talkie to 12th man Peter Handscomb, who went on to the field, then the umpires get involved," says Naicker.

"An entire team of cameramen played their part. There was one following the ball, one on Handscomb, one on Lehmann, one on Warner. They all told a story that I happened to put together with this great team of replay operators."

As for Naicker, there was no hesitation in airing what his team had captured, even with the realisation of the magnitude of what was unfolding.

"A lot of people who watch cricket on SuperSport will know we are quite brave in terms of being quite creative and editorially sound," he says.

"It was a natural instinct. It wasn't something I previewed with 10 other people to say 'What do you think, should we show it?' I just went for it."

The footage was pored over by Naicker's team of commentators, while his phone was "WhatsApping off the hook" with messages from around the world, asking him to show it again and again. Replays drew the attention of the third umpire, Englishman Ian Gould.

"He's got comms with me while I'm directing," says Naicker. "There was a moment when he asked me 'I think that's enough now, do you mind not showing it?'

"My response to him was 'I'm quite comfortable in what I'm doing in my job and I think you should do yours'."

When the day's play finally ended, Naicker and his team went to a bar and heard Bancroft and Smith confess in their news conference. Both men and Warner were sent home from the tour and handed lengthy bans. When he returned to Australia, Smith broke down in a tearful address to the press in Sydney.

"It became disheartening for us," says Naicker. "It started becoming emotional to see how they were feeling.

"The most difficult thing for me was to see Steve Smith shedding tears. That was not nice and never the intention. You have to have some emotion for those guys."

There was still a fourth and final Test to complete. Feelings were raw, and SuperSport's access to interviews from Australia was heavily restricted.

Naicker and his team faced allegations of bias, that they were somehow part of an orchestrated plot to take down the Australians. Now, with the Aussies back in town, Naicker maintains he would have pounced on the same "fluke" had it been South Africa caught cheating.

He also highlights the power of television. Bancroft and Australia were exposed mere moments after their act of cheating. TV viewers knew before the on-field match officials.

Naicker points to a conversation he had with Stuart Broad, who also faced tampering accusations for treading on the ball on a tour of South Africa in 2010 and is now building a post-playing career as a pundit.

"When you played the Broad footage in ultra-motion, it looked worse than it was," says Naicker. "He said he never realised how much control and power the TV crew has until he worked in the commentary box.

"I said that's what you have to remind your team-mates. You can't hide any more in international cricket. There are too many cameras and technology around."