‘It was just so over the top’: Why Hazlewood isn’t expecting repeat of 2018 on South Africa return

Australian cricket stars Josh Hazlewood and Alex Carey are confident the behaviour of South African crowds will not be an issue next month but insist they are ready for whatever is thrown their way on Australia’s first Test tour of the country since the infamous “Sandpapergate” series of 2018.

The drama-plagued tour eight years ago was marred by the ball-tampering scandal involving Cameron Bancroft, who took sandpaper onto the field and admitted he had used it on the ball. The incident resulted in Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and David Warner being banned from the game.

TV cameras will follow Australia on their return to South Africa after Amazon Prime confirmed another season of The Test will document the men’s team over the next 12 months during a whirlwind international schedule.

The popular documentary, which has run for three seasons, will be produced by Cricket Australia and Whooshka Media and released in 2027 after Australia’s tilt at Ashes glory in the UK next year.

It shapes as a fascinating return to the country for Pat Cummins’ men, with the first Test due to start in Durban on October 9 – and the cameras will be there to capture it all. If only, you cannot help but think, they had been inside Australia’s dressing room in Newlands in 2018.

“Obviously, Cape Town is the third Test,” Hazlewood said. “We are going to be two Tests into the series and three one-dayers [down], so we’re going to be there for a while before that last frontier. The teams have changed a lot over the last eight years. It’s a long time ago. Honestly, I think it’ll be fine.

“I can’t see it going like that [in 2018]. I haven’t seen a series go like that since. It was just so over the top, almost from ball one. I don’t know whether it was two teams at boiling point who had been on the road for a long time and were mentally drained and fatigued.”

Hazlewood said South African crowds, along with those in New Zealand, tended to target individual players more than their counterparts elsewehere.

“Australia and India are mass crowds and mass noise. You might have a whole side in Birmingham singing a song about you or whatever,” Hazlewood said. “But I think New Zealand and South Africa are probably more one-on-one targeting. I don’t know if it’s worse or better, but it’s more individualised. It’s pretty easy to deal with.”

Carey is no stranger to being heckled after his infamous stumping of Jonny Bairstow during the 2023 Ashes.

The Australian wicketkeeper was not on the 2018 tour – he made his Test debut against England in December 2021 – but feels well-equipped to handle whatever South African crowds throw at the team.

It helps, Hazlewood pointed out with a laugh, that Carey spends most of his time safely stationed near the pitch rather than on the boundary.

“I learned not to worry about it,” Carey said. “In sport, there is always going to be a level of rivalry and someone is going to be a villain and a hero. Nation to nation, someone is going to cop it.

“The boys on the boundary line cop it regularly when they head overseas. It’s part of sport I guess and [it’s about] not letting it affect us. I don’t think it really has.

“I don’t know what South Africa is going to be like. We’ve been there twice for ODI series [since 2018]. There’s that normal level of country versus country banter. We’ll wait and see but from my point, learn to embrace it and laugh it off.”

Smith, who served a 12-month ban alongside Warner for his role in the scandal, has already returned to South Africa for white-ball cricket but is preparing to play his first Test there since 2018.

The 37-year-old was named on Monday in Australia’s 16-man squad.

“We saw him come back at Edgbaston that time [in the 2019 Ashes] after 12 months out and get 100 in both innings, so he has that in him,” Hazlewood said. “He always wants to do well. Look out if he has that sort of feeling again.

“It’s a nice time to do a doco. Hopefully we play ball for the doco and win a few games and get the right results and make it a good season.

“I think [Kagiso] Rabada is a big one whether he is in or out [with his hamstring injury]. He’s a massive player for them as well, so that’ll play a part.”