THE REAL CAMERON BANCROFT.

I sent Cameron Bancroft a WhatsApp message in the period between his initial press conference with Steve Smith at Newlands and the sanctions being announced.

It was something along the lines of, ‘Thinking of you, mate’. I’m sure he’d received hundreds of similar ones. The guy’s world was being turned upside down and there are plenty of people like me who care for him.

His response summed up what Bangers, the person, is all about.

He thanked me, then turned the discussion to my family. He said my wife, Cindy, is going through something of far greater significance than what he was experiencing in South Africa. That, he added, was true perspective.

Cindy has diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago.

Personally, I think that’s a pretty remarkable way for a 25-year-old bloke to respond in the middle of the biggest crisis of his life, one that was being documented all over the world.

I’m not condoning what happened in Cape Town. That’s not the purpose of this piece. What I am trying to provide is some balance and context to some of the portrayals of Cam that have been aired over the last week.

I don’t know Steve Smith and Dave Warner well enough to do that, but Cam I do. He’s not a criminal. He’s not a bad bloke. He’s a kid who made a mistake, the consequences of which he will live with for the rest of his life.

He has endured public scorn, experienced humiliation and dealt with sanctions that will hurt him financially, professionally and reputationally.

That’s a lot for any human being to go through.

It’s time to support him.