Brook insists he has never witnessed ball-tampering as Sandpapergate resurfaces

England captain Harry Brook has insisted that he has never witnessed ball-tampering during his cricket career, as the infamous Sandpapergate scandal returned to the spotlight ahead of the white-ball series against Australia.Harry Brook says he's 'never seen' ball tampering as sandpapergate resurfaces (Reuters Photo)New Delhi,Nov 12, 2026 21:23 ISTEngland captain Harry Brook has said he has never witnessed ball-tampering during his cricket career, as the controversy surrounding Australia's 2018 Sandpapergate scandal returned to the headlines ahead of the white-ball series between the two sides.The issue has resurfaced following the release of former Australia batter Usman Khawaja's new book, which has brought fresh attention to the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town. Australia were at the centre of a major controversy during the third Test against South Africa in March 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.Brook was around 17 or 18 at the time and had not yet made his international debut. Asked about his own experience of ball-tampering ahead of the first ODI in Perth, the England captain made it clear that he had never seen such an incident."I've never seen any ball-tampering before. I wasn't in that Australia dressing room. I think I was about 17 or 18 years old, so I was completely oblivious to any of that stuff," Brook said. With England preparing for eight white-ball matches against their old rivals, Brook was keen to keep the focus on the cricket rather than get drawn into the controversy."We're here in Australia, we're looking forward to this series and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and getting ourselves as ready as possible. We're just trying to concentrate on ourselves at the minute. 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, had also been asked about the practice a day earlier. The former skipper dismissed the suggestion that ball-tampering was widespread in international cricket at the time."I can only speak from my own experiences and that's not how I feel, no," Root said.BROOK, MARSH SHARE LIGHT MOMENTAway from the controversy, Brook and Australia captain Mitchell Marsh took part in a light-hearted promotional event ahead of the opening ODI. The two were pictured enjoying a mock afternoon tea on the outfield, a relaxed start to a rivalry that had been particularly heated during last year's Ashes.Brook admitted the unusual meeting had caught him by surprise but welcomed the opportunity to begin the series on a positive note."I wasn't expecting to have a tea with him, that's for sure but, yeah, it's a nice way to kick off the series," he said.England will return to Optus Stadium, the venue where their previous Ashes campaign began. Brook recalled the atmosphere at the ground and said his team were looking forward to playing there again."Australia against England is always a good series and we're looking forward to kickstarting it. We're very happy to be out here. We're all really raring to go here at Optus Stadium, which is where the last Ashes started. It's an amazing place to play cricket. The atmosphere when we played here was unbelievable," he added.- Ends