Cameron Bancroft, one of the three central figures in the ball-tampering scandal, says it is “self-explanatory” that along with Steve Smith, David Warner and himself, Australian bowlers were also aware of the illegal tactics during the 2018 Newlands Test.

Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball in the third Test against South Africa that year, a scandal that had rocked Australian and world cricket.

In an interview with The Guardian, asked if some of the bowlers knew what he was doing, Bancroft replied: “Yeah, look, all I wanted to do was to be responsible and accountable for my own actions and part.

“Yeah, obviously what I did benefits bowlers and the awareness around that, probably, is self-explanatory,” he added.

Asked again if his bowling colleagues had some knowledge of what was happening, he replied: “Uh … I think, yeah, I think it’s pretty probably self-explanatory.”

Quicks Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Marsh and spinner Nathan Lyon were the other Australian bowlers in that Test.

Bancroft, who is playing for Durham in the English County Championship, said he wanted to be “liked” by his teammates and in turn “lost control” of his values. “I invested too much to the point where I lost control of my values,” he said.