By Kevin Rademeyer, Sports Journalist.
Photo Credit: Getty Images.
Australia captain Pat Cummins has launched a forceful defence against Usman Khawaja’s claims that the entire team knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 tour of South Africa, describing the allegations as “complete and utter nonsense” as the controversy triggered a fresh public dispute with former teammate David Warner.
Cummins faced more than an hour of questions at Cricket Central in Sydney on Friday, 13 November, after Khawaja’s recently released autobiography, Sabr, reignited debate over the ball tampering scandal that damaged Australian cricket eight years ago.
Khawaja alleges that knowledge of the plan to use sandpaper extended beyond the three players who were sanctioned by Cricket Australia: then captain Steve Smith, vice captain Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
He has also claimed that sandpaper was used on the ball during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and called for the wider team to accept collective responsibility.
Cummins, who was part of the touring squad, rejected the suggestion that the entire team knew sandpaper was being taken onto the field.
“When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100% wrong,” he said. “I’ve said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.”
He was particularly dismissive of Khawaja’s suggestion that he and others had helped devise the plan. “He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense,” Cummins said.
The captain added that he was surprised to learn from the book that Khawaja had allegedly warned Bancroft to be careful when using sandpaper.
“That’s not the Usman that I know,” he said. “Usman’s a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations. In his book, Ussie has been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket.”
Cummins also rejected the suggestion that there had been a coordinated team strategy to alter the ball illegally. “There was no masterplan around using illegal methods,” he said. “There’s no grand plan. There’s no team meeting. There’s no bowlers saying, “This is what must happen.”
He said Khawaja’s account of sandpaper being used during the Port Elizabeth Test was also news to him, adding that the revelation had surprised other players he had spoken to.
Cummins maintained that he had been truthful when interviewed during Cricket Australia’s original investigation, conducted by then head of integrity Iain Roy and high performance manager Pat Howard.
He said the bowlers and other selected players had been questioned and that the investigators had invited anyone with further information to come forward. “I did my interview. I was totally truthful. I’ve been very consistent since then at that event till now. Nothing’s changed,” he said.
He also said he did not remember any discussion in which Khawaja had called on the team to take collective responsibility, nor could he identify the two players Khawaja alleged had opposed the idea.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has indicated that the governing body will not reopen the investigation. Cummins said the decision rested with the organisation, but described the original process as the proper way to deal with the incident.
While rejecting the wider allegations, Cummins acknowledged the culture within the 2018 team had serious shortcomings. He described it as having a “win-at-all-costs mentality”, an “ugly underbelly” and too many divisions within the group.
“I thought that the way we acted on the field was quite abrasive. I didn’t like the way we spoke to umpires, the opposition,” he said.
“There was a bit of an arrogance and a bit of an ugliness at times that didn’t sit well with me as a young guy. And now I’m captain, I have spent a lot of time making sure that’s not the case with this current Aussie team.”
Cummins said he had been trying to move Australian cricket away from those behaviours during his six years as captain. He also defended the original sanctions against Smith, Warner and Bancroft, saying they were “way too heavy-handed” and “way over the top”.
The press conference did little to settle the dispute. Warner, speaking as a commentator on Fox Cricket after Cummins had finished, backed Khawaja’s account and accused the current captain of publicly undermining his former teammate.
“I actually feel for him at the moment,” Warner said. “I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzy under the bus and I’m very disappointed by that.”
Warner said he stood by what Khawaja had written and argued that the controversy would remain unresolved until the truth was accepted.
“For me, it’s about accepting the truth, and I just don’t think this will rest,” he said. “I’m still getting called the architect, the fixer, and all this kind of stuff, and it really, really hurts.”
The former opener said the consequences of the scandal had continued to affect him, Smith and Bancroft long after their suspensions ended. “All three of us have paid a big price in this,” Warner said. “We’ve been served a life punishment.”
He also spoke about the personal toll on his family, revealing that he and his wife had lost a baby during that period.
“My wife and I, as well, pay the greatest price,” he said. “We lost a baby during that time, and that’s why it really hurts me the most until the truth is accepted.”
Cummins said he had spoken briefly to Khawaja since the book’s release and was still considering what the allegations meant for a friendship that had lasted many years. He said he had also received legal advice that some of the claims could be defamatory, but ruled out taking action.
“You’ve got to move on,” he said. “It’s been eight years. You’ve got to draw the line at some point. I won’t be doing that.”
He also rejected Khawaja’s suggestion that racism had influenced Cricket Australia’s decision to appoint Tim Paine as interim captain after Smith and Warner stepped down. Khawaja had written that he was “flabbergasted” by Paine’s appointment and questioned whether Australian cricket was ready for a captain of colour.
Cummins called that one of the most serious claims in the book and strongly disagreed with it.
The fallout has now extended beyond the original players involved. Warner has publicly challenged Cummins, Khawaja’s account remains disputed, and Smith and Bancroft have yet to offer fresh responses to the latest claims.
Cummins said Friday’s appearance would be his final public comment on the matter. But with former teammates now openly questioning one another’s accounts, the attempt to close one of Australian cricket’s most damaging chapters has instead exposed how far apart those involved remain.