Tim Paine has thrown turned the tables on South Africa with allegations surfacing in a new tell-all autobiography suggesting the Proteas unlawfully altered the state of their ball during the Cape Town series in 2018.
The claims brought to light in his book titled 'The Price Paid' reveal stark accusations made against the Proteas, who are said to have a case to answer for after the initial blame landed with an Australian trio.
Paine further writes in denial of his involvement in the sandpaper gate, removing any doubt of a team meeting being concocted with David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith the sole masterminds in the plan.
The wicketkeeper-batsman comments on watching first-hand an unnamed South African player attempt to modify the seam, with Paine visibly frustrated by the actions he noticed unfolding.
"I saw it happen in the fourth Test of that series," Paine writes.
"Think about that. After everything that had happened in Cape Town, after all the headlines and bans and carry on.
"I was standing at the bowlers' end in the next Test when a shot came up on the screen of a South African player at mid-off having a huge crack at the ball.
The television director, who had played an active role in catching out Cam, immediately pulled the shot off the screen.
"We went to the umpires about it, which might seem a bit poor, but we'd been slaughtered and were convinced they'd been up to it since the first Test.
"But the footage got lost. As it would."
The 37-year-old admitted ball-tampering was commonplace in modern-day cricket, describing it as "the sport's dirty little secret".
Paine conceded the "next level" nature of using sandpaper was "shameful", with traditional practices more targeting throwing the ball into the turf as a way of scuffing up the shape of the seam.
