It has been three years since the sandpaper-gate incident at Newlands in Cape Town when the Australian trio of - Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft - received a ban from Cricket Australia. While it has been three years, the wound of the incident was reopened when Bancroft admitted that the bowlers were aware of the tampering incident. Since then, hell has broken loose, with several former cricketers all wanting Cricket Australia to reopen the case. 

However, former Australian skipper Michael Clarke, admitted that it isn’t a big surprise that more than three people knew about the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town. He also insisted that there was no possible way the bowlers didn’t notice that the ball was being tampered with when they were bowling. 

“What’s the surprise? That more than three people knew? I don’t think anybody who has played the game of cricket or knows a little bit about cricket would know that in a team like that, at the highest level, when the ball is such an important part of the game,” Clarke told Sky Sports’ Big Sports Breakfast, reported HT. 

“I don’t think anybody is surprised that more than three people knew about it," he added. 

Clarke also stated that playing cricket at the highest level, the bowlers should have noticed that something was wrong with the ball. 

“If you are playing sport at the highest level you know your tools that good it’s not funny. Can you imagine that ball being thrown back to the bowler and the bowler not knowing about it? Please," Clarke further said.

The former skipper also hypothetically stated that if there was someone to tamper with his bat, he would have noticed in the first instance. 

“I can tell you now if you went and grabbed a pen, just a pen and put a little ‘1’ somewhere on my cricket bat; on top of the handle, on the edge of the bat, on the toe of the bat, on the face, under the grip, anywhere, just a little number one, I would have noticed," Clarke added.