NEW Australian cricket coach Justin Langer has admitted he would have found it difficult to say no had senior team leaders asked him to act illegally on the pitch.

Langer told 9 News that he empathises with young batsman Cameron Bancroft, who rubbed sandpaper on the ball in South Africa at the behest of then-vice-captain David Warner.

Bancroft, Warner and Steve Smith have all been suspended from cricket and Langer has previously said he would welcome all three back into the fold down the road.

But Langer said if he’d walked into the sheds as a youngster and had Allan Border instruct him to carry out something untoward, he’d have followed orders.

“I walked into this changeroom — this Australian cricket changeroom with Allan Border, Steve Waugh, David Boon and Ian Healy and Bobby Simpson leading it,” he said.

“If Allan Border had asked me to tamper with the ball I would’ve. I would’ve because I would be too scared not to.

“The difference is Allan Border would never have asked me and Bobby Simpson would’ve killed me!

“He would’ve killed anyone who bought the game into disrepute.”

Langer has promised to fix the culture of the Australian men’s cricket team, including taking cues from an independent review, and said there was good reason for the heavy sanctions against the three ball-tampering culprits.

“They’re really tough sanctions — that said, they should be.,” he said.

“And the reasons they should be because we’ve said forever, we don’t bend the rules. We don’t cheat.”