Khawaja Memoir Claims Whole Team Knew of 2018 Ball Tampering; Cummins Rejects It
Usman Khawaja's memoir claims the whole Australia team knew of the 2018 ball tampering. Captain Pat Cummins calls that "nonsense", while Shane Warne's 2022 questions about Cricket Australia's honesty are back in the debate. Cricket Australia has ruled out a new inquiry.
Shane Warne's 2022 questions about whether Cricket Australia was hiding the truth on Sandpapergate have resurfaced after Usman Khawaja's memoir, published on November 10, 2026, claimed the entire Australia team knew of the 2018 ball tampering.
Eight years after the scandal, old wounds are open and former team-mates are on opposing sides.
Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, says the Cape Town tampering was not the work of a few individuals. "It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," he writes. He also alleges sandpaper was used in the previous Test, in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.
Cummins hits back
Australia captain Pat Cummins answered on Friday in a news conference that ran for more than an hour. He called Khawaja's claims "100% wrong" and "nonsense".
Former coach Darren Lehmann has also rejected the accusations. So have Graeme Hick, who was one of his assistants, and bowler Mitchell Starc.
David Warner, banished from the game after the scandal, backs Khawaja and calls the account "100% accurate". He described Cricket Australia's 2018 inquiry as "rushed and botched". Seam bowler Chadd Sayers, part of the 2018 tour squad, has also supported Khawaja.
Steve Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft were punished for tampering with the ball in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
New names and claims
Khawaja alleges a coach urged the team to find ways to make the ball swing, and that Bancroft was later encouraged to cheat. Former bowling coach David Saker has been identified as the unnamed coach accused of telling Smith and Bancroft to lie about the sandpaper.
Former spinner Stuart MacGill has admitted he taped sandpaper to his thumb years before 2018.
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has said the board will not reopen the investigation.
What Warne said in 2022
Warne, who took 708 Test wickets, raised the issue on the Fox Cricket Follow-On podcast in February 2022. He died weeks later, in March that year.
"We still don't know the truth about what actually happened at Sandpapergate. Does Cricket Australia know the truth? Do they?" he asked. He added: "Are they hiding anything?"
Warne also took aim at four frontline bowlers, Cummins, Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. They issued a joint statement in 2021 saying they knew nothing of the plan, and called themselves the "bowling cartel".
"That might be correct," Warne said of their letter. "But if it's not and they've done that, there are all sorts of whispers or rumours that we all have heard. And one day the truth will come out."
