Australia National Cricket Team fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc have made the headlines with their surprising gestures towards the South African crowd during the third and final Test match against the South African National Cricket Team at Newlands in Cape Town.

Both players were targeted by South African fans, who repeatedly mocked the team over Australia's infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal, which is also known as Sandpapergate, that happened at the same venue in Cape Town. Earlier, Mitchell Starc's deadly bouncer hit Marques Ackerman on the head in SA vs AUS 3rd Test.

Josh Hazlewood shows middle finger to South African fans during Cape Town Test

Australia’s star bowler Josh Hazlewood was seen showing the middle finger to the South African crowd, while Mitchell Starc reacted angrily and said something to them as they were fielding at the boundary line on day four of the ongoing three-match Test series decider at Newlands in Cape Town.

The incident caught attention after a video of the two Australian pacers went viral on social media. In that viral clip, Hazlewood appeared to lose his patience and made an offensive middle-finger gesture towards the Cape Town spectators when he came to the boundary line for a towel.

However, Hazlewood gave a friendly smile to the South African fans before returning to his position as the fans continued to mock the Australian team. On the other hand, Starc was not pleased with the way the Proteas fans were behaving from Day 1 in the Cape Town Test.

Mitchell Starc loses his cool as South African fans bring back Sandpapergate taunts

Before Hazlewood, Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon were also subjected to the Sandpapergate taunts during the ongoing Cape Town Test, and when they threw the same to Starc, the fiery speedster didn’t take it lightly. Starc was seen pointing towards the spectators and angrily mouthing words in the crowd's direction following their constant teasing near the boundary.

He angrily shouted at the fans with a hand gesture while fielding close to the boundary rope. Actually, the South African fans continued chanting at the Australian bowlers and brought back memories of the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal at the same venue.

Newlands faithful vs Aussies 😂 https://t.co/v2UxgaqlSP

— Ongama (@imongamagcwabe) October 30, 2026

Mitchell Starc runs riot against South Africa, picks up 9 wickets in third Test at Newlands

Meanwhile, Mitchell Starc delivered a sensational performance in the third Test against South Africa at Newlands, picking up nine wickets to put Australia in a commanding position. The left-arm pacer continued to trouble the Proteas batters and played a key role in restricting their scoring.

The Australian fast bowler claimed six wickets for 72 runs in South Africa's first innings before taking another three wickets for 65 runs in the second innings. On Day 3, he dismissed Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman as South Africa reached 140/4.

In the second innings, Markram was dismissed for just one run after driving the ball towards mid-off. David Bedingham also departed for 11, caught at deep backwards square leg off Josh Hazlewood. South Africa fought back strongly on Day 4 with centuries from Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder. Amid this, Tim David earns an England ODI call-up with the 2027 World Cup in focus.

Starc reaches 460 Test wickets

However, Starc removed Marco Jansen for a duck as the Proteas were bowled out for 387 runs. With this performance, Starc has reached 460 Test wickets in 110 matches at an average of 25.97. Against South Africa, he has 62 wickets in 13 matches at 26.46. He has taken 167 wickets at 26.29 in 43 away Tests. Starc has now 648 wickets in 163 first-class wickets to his name.