Australia captain Pat Cummins has strongly rejected Usman Khawaja’s revelations about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, describing the former opener’s allegations against him and other teammates as “complete and utter nonsense”. The controversy surrounding the Cape Town Test has resurfaced following the release of Khawaja’s book, Sabr: Finding My Way in Cricket and Life, with former Australia opener David Warner also criticising Cummins’ response.
Khawaja recently claimed in his book that the ball-tampering incident during Australia’s 2018 Test against South Africa involved more members of the team than those who were eventually punished. Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball, while an investigation by Cricket Australia identified Warner as the main instigator and then-captain Steve Smith as being aware of the plan. All three received lengthy suspensions.
Speaking to journalists in Sydney on Friday, Cummins defended his position and accused Khawaja of making serious claims about teammates without sufficient accountability.
“Usman is a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations. In his book, he’s been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket,” Cummins said.
The Australia captain rejected the suggestion that the entire team knew about the use of sandpaper, insisting that he had no knowledge of the plan.
“When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100% wrong. I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening,” he said.
Cummins also dismissed Khawaja’s suggestion that he and other players were involved in planning the ball-tampering operation.
“He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense,” he added.
The Australia skipper also expressed surprise at Khawaja’s revelation that he had warned Bancroft to be careful while using sandpaper during the match. Cummins said this was inconsistent with the Khawaja he had known and the team’s efforts to rebuild its culture following the scandal.
However, David Warner has since come out in support of Khawaja. While commentating on the Australia-England ODI in Perth for Fox Sports, Warner criticised Cummins’ response and expressed disappointment at what he viewed as an attempt to throw Khawaja under the bus.
Warner’s intervention has added another dimension to the debate, bringing three prominent figures from Australian cricket’s 2018 era into a public disagreement over the events in Cape Town.
The controversy has resurfaced as Australia prepare for their limited-overs series against England, comprising three ODIs and five T20Is. Cummins, along with Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, has been rested following Australia’s recent tour of South Africa. The first ODI is scheduled to take place in Perth on Friday.
