It is almost nine months since the ball-tampering scandal rocked Australian cricket. On the eve of his return from a nine-month ban for his role in Sandpaper-gate, Cameron Bancroft pens a letter to his former self on that fateful Cape Town day.

March 24, 2018

Dear Cameron,

Today is a day that you will feel a sense of having lost everything. A day you literally used a piece of sandpaper on a cricket ball.

I promise you, it will be one of the most significant days in your life. You will wonder why you did it, question every part of who you are as a person, grieve, grow, act and become someone again. I promise.

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Somebody who you can stare back at in the mirror and feel love for, be content with, be proud of and grateful for. It will be difficult to understand this right now but have faith and embrace uncertainty. It’s probably some of the best advice I can give you in this moment right now.

The arrival back to Perth will be tougher than anything you could ever imagine. Reporters and cameras will be lined up at the airport trying to get a glimpse of you as you return home.

You will be ushered out the back of the airport to see the familiar face of JL. The reality and the enormity of this event will have set in by now.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

Stay strong as you prepare for your press conference at the WACA. Speak honestly and from the heart. You will step out of that room feeling imprisoned, sad, lost and yet strangely hopeful.

Play Video Disgraced Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft addresses a packed media conference at the WACA, watch the full statement. The West Australian Video Disgraced Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft addresses a packed media conference at the WACA, watch the full statement.

Like all great innings, you just have to “start again”.

It is really simple in this early stage. Back to basics. A coffee with Matt, the sports psych, will begin the plan for what the future holds. Like Mum and Dad would say, keep it simple stupid.

With the support of family, friends and staff close to you at the WACA, you will begin the journey of forgiveness of the self, and of others.

You learn self-awareness about who you are, about love, about your purpose and find what brings you joy. It will begin by waking up at the same time each day, going to the gym, meditation and plenty of what you have never been so good at dealing with… “spare time”. It used to be just cricket - literally, that was it - but it will change.

A trip to Brisbane soon after your return from South Africa sets you on your way, seeing your aunty, uncle and cousins. Their support is heart-warming. It’s the city where you spent time at the cricket academy, conveniently “starting again” and learning about your cricket game for a new season. Except this time, you’re learning about what your new life is all about.

Howard and Sally will help guide you to understand that you are more than a professional cricketer character you created. It’s hard for you to understand right now because at the moment this is all you see yourself to be.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

This early period brings about its own challenges. Running 35km a week and practising yoga each day gives you a release. You won’t realise until later how significant the rolling out of that mat will be for you.

It will heal you from the inside out. Peeling back the layers of who you think you are and understanding again the values of being true to yourself. The simple mistake of doing something because you were wanting to fit in had come at a huge cost. Yoga will teach you how to be true to yourself.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

Camera Icon Cameron Bancroft practises yoga. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images

A trip you take to Broome in May can be defined by words of the great Saint Francis of Assisi: “It is in giving that we shall receive”.

JL gives you a chance to be at an annual retreat with the Kyle Andrews Foundation. This foundation provides support to kids with cancer and this retreat helps those kids who don’t know what their future holds gives them a short period of respite from the toxicity that can be routine hospital visits.

Feeling this and seeing the smiles on the faces of kids who are suffering far more than you are will humble you. You learn that some people, like these kids, fight battles far greater than you can understand.

You will forever be grateful for the energy you felt from the group of people that make up the Kyle Andrews Foundation. Seriously… I mean really grateful.

You consider yourself to be unaffectionate - these kids will teach you otherwise. The value of a nice warm hug will surprise you and become part of who you are.

Come winter it will be time to get back to cricket. You peel back your technique to simplicity. You have always respected mentors in your life and in this moment of rebuilding two wise men, Bob and Wayne, guide you to hold the bat again.

There’s no worries about time, there’s plenty of that - trust me! Your eyes will be clear to see the bandaids you have placed over your game over the years.

Your performance is the only thing being judged right now, but this spare time will allow you to create something better, a more sustainable technique for when that time comes to return to cricket again.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

Camera Icon WA cricketer Cam Bancroft with Bonnie (in wheelchair). Credit: Supplied, supplied

Just like the Kyle Andrews Foundation experience, working at high school and primary school breakfast club programs you become even more energised and grateful for where you are. Some kids don’t get breakfast before school, you know.

A moment will touch you when a little girl comes up and just wants to hold your hand. She will say, “My mum doesn’t like my dad”. No matter what you are feeling now, trust me, you really do have an amazing life… even without cricket.

Darwin in June and July will be good fun, giving back to this game that has been so enriching for you. The first couple of games don’t go to plan but for some reason getting out doesn’t seem to carry as much anxiety as it did before.

You show up to practice, give your best to improve and do the same in a game. Your mindset around the game will evolve - that may be hard to understand right now - but for the first time you are starting to understand about balance. You are a good player after all.

So have faith and embrace uncertainty.

A conversation in August with your new coach, Adam Voges, becomes one of the most significant in your journey.

As the Warriors squad prepare for a pre-season trip to Brisbane, you will be told that you are not included. Yes, you won’t be going, plus you can’t even play!

Banned and suspended. Not a big deal some would think, but it will be huge for you.

V will ask you to justify why you should go to Brisbane. You easily write four pages of reasons - it’s truly unfulfilling. On your way to present your case to your coach you realise this is the moment when you begin to become OK with the thought of never having cricket as part of your life again.

Until you are able to acknowledge that you are Cameron Bancroft, the person who plays cricket as a profession, and not Cameron Bancroft the cricketer, you will not be able to move forward. This will become a defining moment for you.

Camera Icon Steven Smith (capt) and Cameron Bancroft (L) of Australia during day 3 of the 3rd Test match between South Africa and Australia at Newlands on March 24, 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft admits to attempting to change the condition of the ball by using a foreign object. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Credit: Getty Images

The yoga teacher training course in Melbourne in September helps to grow this passion of yours. You learn about anatomy, how to teach poses, alignment, the philosophy but most importantly you learn that you can use your life to a greater purpose.

New friends will be made, great people with similar interests. Maybe cricket isn’t for you, you’ll ask yourself… will you return? Yoga will be such a fulfilling experience. It’s hard to feel this reality could exist.

You meet people fighting battles greater than you can understand, but through your own hardship and journey you can inspire others in the form of yoga. This will be tough to understand now, but have faith and embrace uncertainty.

The Willetton District Cricket Club is where your cricketing journey began. You will become the captain and have a great opportunity to give all your love and knowledge to a group of players you maybe neglected through the journey of playing at the highest level.

The first game will give you the answer about what the game of cricket means to you. It is simply just fun. You wear a blue cap, it won’t be a Baggy Green, but the enjoyment is the same. You love the game. That’s the heart of all passion. Cricket is still well and truly a part of who you are.

Grade cricket is tough. The balls do more, the wickets are softer, it’s hard to score. Yet like the great journey you will go on, all you can do is show up and do your very best.

It’s amazing how your best will always be enough. Not trying too hard like you are right now in South Africa, but embracing each step of the journey.

That is patience, living in the present moment, each moment of every day. Wanting to know the answer to everything in your cricket, in your life will become the past, a value of your old self. Be grateful, for it’s a beautiful journey ahead of you. It is amazing how embracing this uncertainty will become fun.

I know the sadness you are feeling now, sitting in your hotel room in South Africa. Like all challenges in life, time can really heal anything.

You have no idea how amazing you are as a person. You have an ability to love others and not just love but even hug and understand others with compassion, strength and resilience.

Play Video WA cricketer Cameron Bancroft is back on the field where it all began, The West Australian Video WA cricketer Cameron Bancroft is back on the field where it all began,

Many people will judge you as a cheat, but that is OK. Always love and respect everyone. You will love those people because you forgive them. Just like you’re going to forgive yourself.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

I write this letter to you while onboard QF772 to Melbourne on December 18, 2018. You are not playing yet but you are excited to be travelling with your Scorchers teammates. It is great to be around the team again.

And while you do not look that different, on the inside you are a vastly different man to the bloke who made that mistake in South Africa.

You know you cannot say sorry enough, but actually it is time you allow your cricket to be about what you have learnt and use this opportunity to make a great impact.

It is your hope that what you have learnt will contribute to the cricket teams you perform in and to others who need to overcome a challenge or setback.

Have faith in the future. After all, you are not a professional cricketer, you are simply Cameron.

Life is an incredible journey.

Have faith and embrace uncertainty.

Love you mate.

Cameron Bancroft