Smith recalls trauma of sandpapergate ahead of South Africa return

Australian cricketer Steve Smith has revealed he still experiences trauma and flashbacks from the 2018 sandpapergate ball-tampering scandal, describing the aftermath as a period when he felt "thrown to the wolves." The comments come as he prepares to return to South Africa for a Test series for the first time since the incident. In an interview published on September 17, 2026, Smith, now 37, said the intense media scrutiny following his one-year ban remains a difficult memory. "I'm not a big fan of cameras, I get anxious around cameras," he stated. "That was a traumatic experience in my life and when I hear the flash of a camera it makes me revisit that, in a way." Smith specifically recalled the hours after being informed of his suspension by then-Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland. "The 24-48 hours after being told... going through the airport in Johannesburg getting absolutely mobbed, and then flying back and doing that press conference... I still have little flashbacks here and there of it," he said. "I felt like I was kind of thrown to the wolves through Johannesburg airport. I didn't have any support there at all.