Sports06 November, 20262 min read
Usman Khawaja Says Entire Australia Team Knew About Sandpaper Ball Tampering in 2018
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Khawaja claims the entire Australia team knew about ball-tampering with sandpaper in 2018. He says knowledge extended beyond Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft.
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Khawaja widens blame
Usman Khawaja said the entire Australia team knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball in the final Test of their 2018 series with South Africa.
“Smith essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn't want to know.”
Khawaja told the Sydney Morning Herald, "It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," as he prepared to release his book Sabr.
Khawaja said discussions about tampering began during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and he described the moment when "Smith essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn't want to know."
Khawaja said Australia were rumbled in the third Test when television cameras showed Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball to help generate reverse swing, and he said he was shocked he was not asked to provide any evidence during Cricket Australia's investigation.
Bowlers deny prior knowledge
Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon issued a joint statement in 2021 saying they "did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field". Khawaja said the four bowlers who played in that match, including current Test captain Pat Cummins, have "consistently denied they had any prior knowledge of the plan."
Bancroft told the Guardian in 2021, "It's pretty probably self-explanatory," when asked if the bowling attack knew about the scandal. Khawaja said he had spoken to Cummins about the book, and Cummins said he had no concerns and felt it was "all dealt with then" and the team had "moved on."
Aftermath and what next
Cricket Australia banned Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months for their role in the scandal, and it gave Cameron Bancroft a nine-month sanction, while Smith was told he would not be able to captain Australia again for at least two years and Warner would never be permitted to lead Australia.
Khawaja said he had argued for collective responsibility in the dressing room after the Cape Town Test, and he wrote, "Take this as a team. We did this as a team. We knew what was going on, and we have to take it as a team".
Khawaja said he dedicated the chapter on Cape Town to Smith, Warner and Bancroft in Sabr and said he thought the trio "deserve" the "justice" of collective blame from the team as a whole.
Sky Sports said Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were rested from a recent white-ball series at home to England, while Lyon was not in the limited-overs set-up, leaving the quartet potentially unable to be quizzed on Khawaja's claims just yet.