The incident happened more than seven years ago.
But former Australian Test player and coach Darren Lehmann has spoken about the daily abuse he still receives from England fans following the infamous 2018 ‘Sandpaper-gate’ match in Cape Town, South Africa.
“You copy it every day,” Lehmann revealed on ABC Sport—despite the fact England wasn’t even involved in the match.
“Yesterday (at Perth Stadium) I would have copped it maybe twenty or thirty times, obviously we made a mistake but we paid the price—it borders on abuse.”
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The 55-year-old, who is providing expert commentary for the ABC during the current Ashes Series, went on to explain the mental toll of the constant barbs while also expressing pride in the way the trio of Australian players at the heart of the incident have been able to rebuild their careers after serving bans of 9-12 months.
“It’s not great for your mental health to be perfectly honest,” Lehmann admitted.
“But the way Smith, Warner and Bancroft have come out the other side, that’s been exceptional, I’m really proud of the way they’ve handled it.”
Lehmann acknowledged that while he still receives daily criticism, it’s nothing compared to what Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith is forced to endure from a small but always-vocal section of English fans.
“It’s eight years ago and you try and move on as best you can, but he (Steve Smith) is still playing every day, so it would a lot worse for him, the abuse he gets,” Lehmann said.
“In England they just don’t forget, it’s like they’ve never done anything wrong in their life.
“The Barmy Army should be better than that, and most of them are—it’s only the ones who drink too much and carry on like pork chops.”