Usman Khawaja denies throwing anyone under bus over Sandpapergate row
The retired Australia opener said he did not single out teammates while discussing the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Usman Khawaja has said he has not thrown anyone under the bus after claiming the whole Australia team knew about sandpaper use in Cape Town in 2018. He also said Steve Smith talked him out of coming clean at the time.
Key takeaways
- Khawaja claimed the entire Australia team knew about the sandpaper plot in the third Test against South Africa.
- Only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were punished at the time.
- Khawaja said Smith talked him out of coming clean in 2018, and again in 2021 after Bancroft said in a newspaper interview that it was "probably self-explanatory" that the bowling attack were aware of the ball-tampering scheme.
- Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood denied knowledge in a 2021 joint statement.
- Khawaja retired from international cricket in January. He scored 6,229 runs in 88 Tests for Australia.
Usman Khawaja has said he has not thrown anyone under the bus after claiming the whole Australia team knew about the sandpaper plot in Cape Town eight years ago. The retired Australia opener made the comments in Instagram videos published on Sunday. BBC Sport reported the remarks.
What Khawaja said
Khawaja said in his autobiography Sabr and in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald that the entire team should take responsibility for the plot to use sandpaper on the ball in the third Test against South Africa.
In videos posted on Instagram, he said he would not deny that everyone knew, but stressed he never spoke on behalf of anyone else in his book. He added: "I haven’t thrown anyone under the bus. "
The 2018 scandal
At the Cape Town Test, Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to try and make it swing through the air. The only players punished were captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft.
Four bowlers who played for Australia in that Test - Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon - have repeatedly denied involvement or knowledge of the plot.
In 2021, the quartet released a joint statement which said they "did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field". Cricket Australia has always asserted only Smith, Warner and Bancroft knew about it.
Khawaja’s career and recent context
Khawaja retired from international cricket in January. He scored 6,229 runs in 88 Tests for Australia. In October, it was revealed that Khawaja had met with Cummins to discuss the contents of the upcoming autobiography. That meeting took place before Australia’s recent Test series in South Africa, which the Proteas won 2-1.
Earlier attempts to speak out
Sky Sports reported that Khawaja said he wanted to come clean in 2018, only to be talked down by Smith, who wanted to take the blame.
Khawaja said he also wanted to speak out in 2021 after Bancroft said in a newspaper interview that it was "probably self-explanatory" that the bowling attack were aware of the ball-tampering scheme.
Khawaja said he was not going to go to war with teammates who did not want to talk about it, and that he was always conscious of putting his team first.
Other reactions
Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach who resigned in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal, denied Khawaja’s claims when he told ABC: "I don’t think everyone would have known." Other players involved in the Cape Town controversy have repeatedly denied involvement or knowledge of the plot.
What happens next
Khawaja said he made a promise to David Warner to tell the truth and that he would do it again in a heartbeat. He said his words no longer influence the team and that he speaks for himself. No further disciplinary process or match date is mentioned in the sources.
Players punished and bowlers who denied knowledge after the 2018 Cape Town Test
Player | Role at the time | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
Steve Smith | Captain | Punished |
David Warner | Vice-captain | Punished |
Cameron Bancroft | Opener | Punished |
Pat Cummins | Bowler | Denied knowledge in 2021 |
Mitchell Starc | Bowler | Denied knowledge in 2021 |
Nathan Lyon | Bowler | Denied knowledge in 2021 |
Josh Hazlewood | Bowler | Denied knowledge in 2021 |
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