Cameron Bancroft checked on breast-cancer sufferer during scandal

Australian cricketer Michael Klinger has revealed that Cameron Bancroft compassionately texted him in the midst of the cheating scandal to check on his wife’s well-being after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Perth Scorchers batsman, 37, sent Bancroft a Whatsapp message saying ‘thinking of you mate’ while the 25-year-old was enduring intense criticism for rubbing sandpaper on the ball against South Africa last week.

Bancroft replied asking after his wife of ten years Cindy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December following a routine scan on her back. 

Klinger (pictured with his wife and children), the third leading run scorer in Scorchers’ history, revealed that Cameron Bancroft compassionately texted him to check on his breast cancer-suffering wife in the midst of the cheating scandal

The Perth Scorchers batsman, 37, sent Bancroft (pictured on the day of the cheating) a Whatsapp message saying 'thinking of you mate' while the 25-year-old was being vilified by the Australian public for rubbing sandpaper on the ball against South Africa last week

The Perth Scorchers batsman, 37, sent Bancroft (pictured on the day of the cheating) a Whatsapp message saying ‘thinking of you mate’ while the 25-year-old was being vilified by the Australian public for rubbing sandpaper on the ball against South Africa last week

Bancroft replied asking after his wife of ten years Cindy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December following a routine scan on her back. Pictured: The Klinger family 

Bancroft replied asking after his wife of ten years Cindy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December following a routine scan on her back. Pictured: The Klinger family 

‘His response summed up what Bangers is all about,’ Klinger wrote for cricket website Players’ Voice.

‘He thanked me, then turned the discussion to my family. He said my wife, Cindy, is going through something of far greater significance than what he was experiencing in South Africa. That, he added, was true perspective. 

‘Personally, I think that’s a pretty remarkable way for a 25-year-old bloke to respond in the middle of the biggest crisis of his life, one that was being documented all over the world.’ 

Klinger said he was not trying to condone the cheating but wanted to make the point that everyone makes mistakes and Bancroft is not a bad person. 

Speaking candidly about his wife’s diagnosis in December, Klinger said telling their three young children Baily, seven, Summer, five and Easton, one, was ‘the hardest and most terrible thing I’ve had to do in my life’.

‘It was something I wouldn’t wish on anyone,’ he said. 

Klinger said he was not trying to condone the cheating but wanted to make the point that everyone makes mistakes and Bancroft is not a bad person

Klinger said he was not trying to condone the cheating but wanted to make the point that everyone makes mistakes and Bancroft is not a bad person

Klinger wrote: 'Personally, I think that’s a pretty remarkable way for a 25-year-old bloke to respond in the middle of the biggest crisis of his life, one that was being documented all over the world.'

Klinger wrote: ‘Personally, I think that’s a pretty remarkable way for a 25-year-old bloke to respond in the middle of the biggest crisis of his life, one that was being documented all over the world.’

Klinger (with Summer and Baily), the third leading run scorer in Scorchers' history, announced the news on Perth Scortchers' website saying it 'shocked and devastated us all'

Klinger (with Summer and Baily), the third leading run scorer in Scorchers’ history, announced the news on Perth Scortchers’ website saying it ‘shocked and devastated us all’

Klinger, who is the third leading run scorer in Scorchers history, announced the news on Perth Scorchers’ website saying it ‘shocked and devastated us all’.       

It comes amid claims Steve Smith would have coped much better with the cheating scandal if his fiancée was in South Africa to support him.

The former captain, who has been banned from the game for a year over a shameful ball-tampering plot, suffered alone because Dani Willis had flown to New York to plan their wedding.

Smith, 28, crumbled under intense criticism from former players, fans and even the Prime Minister and broke down in tears at a press conference on Thursday where he said he was ‘deeply sorry’ for letting the country down.

An unnamed former cricket WAG today claimed his suffering was exacerbated because he didn’t have Miss Willis, 27, by his side.

'He  suffered through it alone': Steve Smith 'struggled without the support' of his fiancée Dani Willis when the ball-tampering scandal broke... as she jetted to New York to plan their wedding

‘He suffered through it alone’: Steve Smith ‘struggled without the support’ of his fiancée Dani Willis when the ball-tampering scandal broke… as she jetted to New York to plan their wedding

She said yes! Steve and Dani got engaged in June 2017 after he proposed in New York City 

She said yes! Steve and Dani got engaged in June 2017 after he proposed in New York City 

‘Dani had left to go wedding shopping in New York three days before the scandal broke,’ the source told Woman’s Day. 

‘Steve had to suffer through it alone, and you could see he was struggling without her support.’

The source said the pair spent a lot of alone time together when she was on tour with him and Smith even paid for them to stay away from the team in a lavish hotel. 

‘It was the One & Only, the most luxurious in Cape Town, which costs $2000 a night,’ the source said.

The source said the pair spent a lot of alone time together when she was on tour with him and Smith even paid for them to stay away from the team in a lavish hotel. Pictured: The One & Only

The source said the pair spent a lot of alone time together when she was on tour with him and Smith even paid for them to stay away from the team in a lavish hotel. Pictured: The One & Only

'And it was the One & Only, the most luxurious in Cape Town, which costs $2000 a night,' the source said. Pictured: The One & Only

‘And it was the One & Only, the most luxurious in Cape Town, which costs $2000 a night,’ the source said. Pictured: The One & Only

‘Steve is very private and often he and Dani eat alone in their room. He’s incredibly serious,’ she added.

Smith and Willis met at a bar in 2011. He proposed in Manhattan in June 2017.

The ball-tampering incident took place during a Saturday afternoon session in Cape Town and was picked up by TV cameras.

A small piece of sandpaper was seen in batsman Cameron Bancroft’s hands after he had worked on the ball to illegally gain an advantage.

Smith admitted plotting to cheat in a press conference after the day’s play. He and former vice captain Warner have been banned for a year and Bancroft has been banned for nine months. 

Emotional: Steve is seen crying in a press conference on Thursday after the scandal

Emotional: Steve is seen crying in a press conference on Thursday after the scandal

Pictured: Bancroft holding a piece of sandpaper in the third Test

Pictured: Bancroft holding a piece of sandpaper in the third Test

‘A sad day for Australian cricket’: How the cheating scandal unfolded

The ball-tampering incident took place during the Saturday afternoon session in Cape Town and was picked up by TV cameras.

A small, yellow object was seen in batsman Cameron Bancroft’s hands after he had worked on the ball, the opener later revealing it to be a piece of tape covered in dirt.

He was later captured taking it from his pocket and placing it down his trousers, a few moments after being spoken to by the substitute Peter Handscomb, who had come onto the field after speaking to coach Darren Lehmann via walkie-talkie. 

Although the two on-field umpires, Richard Illingworth and Nigel Llong of England, questioned Bancroft at the time, he produced what appeared to be a black sunglasses bag from his right pocket in way of explanation, in a bid to deceive the officials.

‘Once I was sighted on the big screens I panicked quite a lot and that resulted in me shoving it down my trousers,’ said Bancroft.

No action was taken at the time — the umpires could have changed the ball or docked Australia runs — but match officials, including referee Andy Pycroft of Zimbabwe, were able to review TV footage of the incident.

But after the day’s play, captain Steve Smith and Bancroft admitted the ball-tampering in a press conference.

Bancroft revealed: ‘We had a discussion during the (lunch) break and I saw an opportunity to use some tape, get some granules from the rough patches on the wickets and change the condition — it didn’t work, the umpires didn’t change the ball.’

Bancroft and Steve Smith admitted that ball tampering had taken place during the action

Smith continued: ‘It was a poor choice and we deeply regret our actions. The coaches weren’t involved. It was purely the leadership group who came up with this.

‘We saw this game as such an important game. We’ve seen the ball reversing through this series and this ball didn’t seem like it was going to go. It’s such poor actions. Deeply regrettable.’

Smith and vice-captain David Warner were sacked from their positions before play on Sunday. They have been banned from cricket for year and Bancroft has been suspended for nine months.



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