Starc, Hazlewood too in the know of ball tampering?

Bengaluru, March 27: Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have been pilloried for the Cape Town ball tampering scandal that rocked the cricketing world.

Smith, Bancroft, coach Darren Lehmann and vice-captain David Warner stood under the scanner but reports have been emerging that other seniors members like fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood too were in the know of the whole episode.

Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland has landed in South Africa to coordinate the inquiry into the episode and the new revelations have added a twist to the process. The probe progress report is expected to be made public by Wednesday (March 27).

World Wide Sports reported that both Starc and Hazlewood are in the thick of things and could come under the CA scrutiny soon.

"They are playing dumb around it. But you can't blame them. There is no way such a thing can happen without the knowledge of the entire the team," the WWS quoted a source and reported.

Smith's decision to name the 'leadership group' - which reportedly includes Smith, vice-captain David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood - has already caused a split among the players.

Hazlewood and Starc are furious at being drawn into it and there are reports that at least one of the bowlers has contacted the Australian Cricketers' Association to demand that Cricket Australia clarifies their lack of involvement.

The reports said CA are considering the inclusion of players like Glenn Maxwell, Joe Burns, Matt Renshaw, Travis Head and Hilton Cartwright in the event of some of the senior players getting banned for a considerably long time.

Langer to take over as coach?

Former Australian opener Justin Langer might replace Darren Lehmann as Australian coach despite CA shooting down such rumours. Langer has widespread coach experiences with several teams after retiring from top flight cricket, and the left-handed batsman is a coach of repute.

In fact, it was Lehmann who named Langer as his potential successor and the latter had coached Australia in 2016 during a tri-series in the West Indies.