Australia captain Pat Cummins has called a press conference for Friday to have his say on ‘Sandpapergate’ after former team-mate Usman Khawaja’s explosive claims that the entire dressing room knew about the ball-tampering scheme that took place on the tour of South Africa in 2018.
Khawaja made the revelations in his new book ‘Sabr’, bringing the scandal back onto the agenda after eight years.
Cummins has been rested for the white-ball series’ against England, which also begins on Friday with the first ODI in Perth, but has publicly invited a media grilling in Sydney for that same morning.
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“I’m training at Cricket Central (in Sydney) tomorrow morning before the Blues play in the Shield match,” Cummins posted on X on Thursday. “Happy to speak with any and all media about the events of this week at 9.30 am.
“I’ve taken some time to try and better understand the long list and full extent of Uzzy’s allegations so I can respond properly.”
In the immediate aftermath of the Cape Town Test in 2018, in which Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper on the ball, only he, then captain Steve Smith and David Warner – who said on Monday that Khawaja’s version of events was “100 per cent accurate” – were banned.
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Khawaja’s revelations have invited renewed speculation over the role of the bowling group who benefitted from the ball manipulation – with Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon having previously distanced themselves from the episode.
In 2021, the quartet issued a carefully worded statement responding to “rumour mongering and innuendo” in which they denied knowing that a foreign substance had been taken onto the field to alter the ball in order to try and make it swing.
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Cricket Australia chairman David Boon has backed Cummins, saying his job as skipper is not under threat.
“We absolutely support Pat,” Boon said in comments published by The Australian on Thursday. “He’s been an exemplary captain, he’s led the team with integrity and, you know, very successfully over the period of time that he’s been captain, so there’s no question of our confidence in him continuing on in that fact.”
Starc: My recollection hasn’t changed
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, after Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg insisted there would be no re-opening of the ‘Sandpapergate’ investigation, Starc said of Khawaja’s claims: “I haven’t really paid much attention to it to be fair.
“There are differing opinions of eight years ago. We were heavily grilled through the process, at the time and since.
“I won’t speak on behalf of the bowlers but from where I stand my opinion hasn’t changed, my recollection hasn’t changed from what we said in 2021.
Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Starc and Pat Cummins (left to right) issued a joint statement in 2021 denying knowledge of the scandal
“As far as our statement said, we weren’t aware of things being taken on the field. That’s where I’ll leave it.
“I will be sticking to what I said five years ago, what I said at the time eight years ago, so clearly there are differing versions from different people.
“We weren’t aware of anything taken on the field to be tampered with. We saw it on the big screen in Cape Town.
“As far as the book is concerned, I haven’t read it. I probably won’t read it, so that’s for Usman to elaborate on.”
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On Khawaja saying the ball was also tampered with in the Test before the Cape Town fixture, at Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, Starc added: “That’s the first I was aware of any of that.”
Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon are not part of the upcoming white-ball series at home to England.
Marsh not drawn on Khawaja claims | Root: It’s all speculation
Captain of Australia for the three-match ODI series and five T20s against England, Mitchell Marsh – who was in the Test team that toured South Africa in 2018 – declined to comment at a press conference in Perth on Thursday.
Australia white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh, who played in the ‘Sandpapergate’ Test in 2018, is due to address the media on Thursday ahead of the team’s first ODI against England
“I respect (Khawaja) for telling his story and for writing his book, and I don’t sit here coming from a place of judgment on any of that,” Marsh said ahead of Friday’s series-opening ODI.
“It was a really tough time for Australian cricket. There’s still a lot of people hurting. Now is not the time for me to share my story.
“My honest answer is because I’ve personally moved on. I respect that others probably haven’t, but I have. And I hope that’s respected.”
He added: “Everyone’s got their story. Some will be willing to share it, and others might not, purely on the basis of the fact that they’ve moved on. I think it’s really important that at some stage we do.”
In his book, Khawaja also said Australia experimented with lifting the seam on the ball during the 2017-18 Ashes at home to England, which they won 4-0 under the captaincy of Smith.
The ECB said ‘no comment’ when approached by Sky Sports News.
England’s Joe Root said on Wednesday: “We obviously have no idea (about it).
“It’s all speculation. I wasn’t in that dressing room. I don’t know what went on. I don’t want to speculate, as I said. My focus is with this (ODI) team right now and what we’ve got coming up.”
Cricket Australia: No compelling reason to re-open ‘Sandpapergate’ case
A statement from the Australian Cricketers’ Association called the 2018 scandal a “low point for Australian cricket” for which Smith, Warner and Bancroft paid an “enormous” and “disproportionate” price.
The statement added: “There are no winners in this issue, and nothing can undo what happened. There are humans in the centre of this and we will be calling for the ongoing vitriol directed at those involved to come to an end.”
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Greenberg, who was not part of Cricket Australia at the time of the scandal, told Australian radio station SEN on the decision not to launch a fresh inquiry: “We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again.
“I don’t think there’s anything that can be gained from that.
“We have said we’re comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we’ve received. That includes what we’ve seen from Usman. Our position hasn’t changed on that.
“There’s absolutely no benefit in going back, that’s the clear position of the CA board. I think it’s fine, we’ve got to look ahead, and the matter was dealt with under a previous leadership back in 2018.
“Trying to second-guess decisions from a previous time or making an assessment through the prism of hindsight is not something we want to do.”
Speaking in 2021, Cameron Bancroft (right) said it was ‘probably self-explanatory’ that the bowlers were aware of the ball-tampering scheme
‘Usman’s version of events inconsistent with what others say’
The Cricket Australia CEO added: “When you cut to the core of the challenge that we face here, Usman’s version of events is inconsistent with what others have had to say.
“I can assure you there are lots of other players who have a very, very different version of events and they have made that very public from the very start of 2018.
“They have been very consistent in their position right through until today. From my conversations with many over the weekend, I don’t think that will change either.
“I think we end up at the same intersection point, which is that eight years ago people have a version of events which differ from each other.
“No one would like to get this chapter of Australian cricket closed more than me, but it is unlikely.”
Uzzy’s book has created a lot of ruckus. I assume that will all play out in the next month or so and what will be will be. Everyone, at some stage, will have to discuss certain parts about this. Everyone’s got their story so I’m not sure if we are going to hear all of that.
Clarke: I want the truth to come out
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke hopes the truth comes to light, saying that chance was missed in the wake of the scandal in 2018 and then again three years later when Bancroft replied it was “probably self-explanatory” after being asked whether the bowling attack knew of the sandpaper use.
Clarke told 2DayFM: “[Australia fans] can’t trust what’s real. They don’t know the truth until this gets reopened and the truth comes out. I would just like to see whatever the truth is for it all to come out, allow people to move on.
“For me, right now, there are more questions than answers. I want to know, firstly, did everyone know? Because certain players have come out and said they didn’t. That’s important information so we can get the truth.
“I can’t believe we haven’t heard from Cummins yet. Steve Smith lost his job. If this doesn’t happen, Tim Paine never captains Australia. And neither does Cummins.
“Cummins would not have captained a game at this stage if ‘Sandpapergate’ didn’t happen because Smith would still be captain.”