Former Test opener Joe Burns is yet to receive any word if he’s needed in South Africa as the fall-out from Australia’s ball-tampering scandal continues.
But the Queenslander admits it’d be a weird situation if anyone was subbed out of the Sheffield Shield final to replace suspended players.
Burns or Matt Renshaw could find themselves packing their bags in the next couple of days, with Cameron Bancroft expected to be suspended by the ICC for attempting to change the condition of the ball in the third Test in Cape Town.
Steve Smith and David Warner have already stood down as captain and vice-captain, with their futures – and that of coach Darren Lehmann – up in the air as a Cricket Australia investigation gets underway.
The Shield decider between Queensland and Tasmania has already been marred after play was abandoned without a ball being bowled on Friday’s day one due to a soaked outfield at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field.
If players were to be removed mid-contest, it would further blight domestic red-ball cricket’s showpiece event.
Two days are left in the final but with the fourth Test in Johannesburg starting on Friday, a decision will need to be made very quickly if players need to be flown over.
At this stage, it’s understood none have been officially put on standby.
Asked if it would be strange if it were to happen, Burns said: “You’d have to say yes, because it’s pretty un-normal. But it’s not something I’ve really thought about.
“My focus is just trying to feel in as good nick as possible for this game and to win a Sheffield Shield.”
Tasmania’s Matthew Wade, another former Test player, quipped: “Hopefully it’s Renshaw and Burns and they both go tomorrow.
“I’m not sure about our boys.”
Burns and Wade both declined to comment on the specifics of the Cape Town incident, saying they didn’t know enough about it.
“I didn’t get a chance to see much of it. The early starts, we’re straight out of bed and to the ground,” he said.
However, Burns denied that ball-tampering was more prevalent than people think in cricket.
“I wouldn’t say that at all,” he said.
“There’s that many cameras at a cricket game that it’d be very hard to tamper with the ball and get away with it.
“Every game of cricket I’ve played, it’s been clean cricket.”
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