Cummins rejects Khawaja's sandpaper claims as 'complete and utter nonsense' in Sydney

The claims in Khawaja's memoir

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, has reopened the sandpaper episode from the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018, when Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were punished for a plot to tamper with the ball. Khawaja writes that more people knew of the scheme than those three, that sandpaper had also been used in the Test before Cape Town, and that responsibility lies with everyone, in his words "all of us". He told the Sydney Morning Herald that his calls for collective responsibility were shot down by certain team-mates. The scrutiny has fallen on the bowlers who benefited from the manipulated ball, namely Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, all of whom remain part of the team. In 2021 the four issued a joint statement saying they "did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field".

Cummins rejects the allegations in Sydney

Cummins had said he wanted to answer the claims properly after taking time to understand the full extent of Khawaja's allegations. He addressed reporters at an unscheduled press conference in Sydney on Friday, 13 November, and called the central claim wrong. If Khawaja meant that the squad knew sandpaper was being taken onto the field, Cummins said the claim was 100 per cent wrong, and he insisted he did not know it had happened. He described the suggestion that he and others were architects of a ball-tampering scheme as "complete and utter nonsense", and said he was genuinely shocked by Khawaja's admission that he had told "Cam" to be careful with sandpaper. He stressed that his position has not changed in eight years:

“I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.”

Cummins also addressed Khawaja personally, saying he supported him telling his story while insisting that people must answer for what they say and do:

“Usman is a friend, but friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations.”

Marsh declines to discuss the affair

Marsh, 35, bowled for Australia at the time of the Cape Town affair and now deputises for Cummins as the 50-over captain. At a pre-match press conference in Perth on Thursday, 12 November, he repeatedly declined to discuss the matter. He said he had not read Khawaja's book, had spoken to his former team-mate before its release, and would not reveal what they discussed. Marsh said he had personally moved on and respected that others had not, and he added:

“I'm not here to go back on my recollections of South Africa.”

Cricket Australia's interim chair, David Boon, backed Cummins to remain captain, telling The Australian "We absolutely support Pat" and describing him as an exemplary captain who had led with integrity.

The series opens with the scandal in the background

The three-match one-day series against England, plus five T20 internationals, opens in Perth on Friday, 13 November. England captain Harry Brook said he "hasn't seen any" of the debate. He added that he had heard some conversations but had not been in that dressing room. The Khawaja allegations have overshadowed the build-up, and Cummins is being rested from the white-ball series.