Australian cricket’s eight-year-old ball-tampering controversy has returned to the spotlight. Former Australian opening batter Usman Khawaja has claimed that the entire Australian team knew about the plan to tamper with the ball during the 2018 tour of South Africa. His statement has triggered a fresh debate in the cricket world. Until now, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft have largely been considered responsible in the case.
Khawaja has made several significant disclosures linked to the controversy in his upcoming autobiography, “Sabr”. He said the matter was not limited only to the batters, but that team players and support staff were also familiar with it. According to him, discussions on using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball had begun during the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
Action had been taken against three players
During the third Test played in Cape Town in March 2018, Cameron Bancroft was seen on camera trying to change the condition of the ball with sandpaper. After this, Cricket Australia banned Steve Smith and David Warner for one year each, while Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
Khawaja says the whole team should have taken responsibility for the incident, but the action remained limited to only three players. He also questioned why he was not questioned during the investigation despite being part of the team.
New statement clashes with earlier claims
Contrary to Khawaja’s claim, Australian fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon had issued a joint statement in 2021 saying they had no knowledge that sandpaper was carried onto the field and used. Former coach Darren Lehmann has also expressed doubt over Khawaja’s claim. Cricket Australia has, for now, maintained confidence in the findings of its earlier investigation.
Khawaja’s disclosures have once again raised the question, eight years later, of how many people were actually involved in Sandpapergate and why the full truth could not come out at the time.
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