Australia captain Pat Cummins has once again rejected any role in the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the 2018 Test against South Africa, dismissing the allegations made in Usman Khawaja's newly published autobiography as "utter nonsense".
Khawaja, whose book came out on Tuesday, said last weekend that every player in the team was aware of the scheme to rough up the ball with sandpaper to generate swing. His remarks sparked calls for a fresh investigation into the scandal, which centred on the third Test in Cape Town. The former Australia batsman also claimed the tactic had been used in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.
Speaking at a news conference in Sydney on Friday, Cummins said: "When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he's 100 percent wrong. I've said that consistently for the last eight years." He added: "He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense. There was no master plan around using illegal methods. There's no grand plan. There's no team meeting. There's no bowlers saying 'this is what must happen'."
Cummins and fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon had already denied knowledge of the plot in a public statement in 2021. Darren Lehmann, Australia's head coach at the time, has also denied knowing anything, while former batting coach Graeme Hick described Khawaja's allegations as "absolutely false".
The skipper spoke for 68 minutes on Friday, answering every question from reporters and saying he would never discuss the ball-tampering affair again. He also pushed back hard against Khawaja's claim in the book that his skin colour and background had blocked him from becoming Australia captain. "I think of all the things that I've read this week, I think that's actually the most serious," Cummins said. "Him saying that if you're Australian captain, you have to be a certain skin colour, I couldn't disagree with that statement any more."
Then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned from elite cricket for a year by Cricket Australia over the tampering, while opening batter Cameron Bancroft, who carried the sandpaper onto the field, received a nine-month suspension. Cummins said he was "genuinely shocked this week" to learn Khawaja had admitted telling Bancroft to be careful with the sandpaper, adding: "That's not the Usman that I know. It's not the Usman that has helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years."
Later on Friday, Warner said the punished trio had paid a heavy price and revealed that his wife Candice had lost a baby in the aftermath of what became known as Sandpapergate. Speaking in TV commentary ahead of a one-day international between Australia and England, the former Test opener said: "I still stick by Uzzie and what he has written in that book. It is the truth. I actually feel for [Khawaja] at the moment. I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzie under the bus and I'm very disappointed by that."
Cummins was also asked about Khawaja's recollection that two players rejected his call for the team to take collective responsibility. "I don't remember any conversation around collective responsibility," he said. "So then, I've got no idea who those two people would be because I don't remember ever being asked or having a conversation about it." Khawaja and Warner have both criticised the 2018 Cricket Australia investigation that found only the three punished players responsible, and Cummins insisted he had been "totally truthful" when asked to take part in that review. Earlier this week, the head of Cricket Australia ruled out reopening the case.
Cummins said he respected Khawaja's right to tell his story but felt some allegations were too serious to ignore. "Usman's a friend, but friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations," he said. "In his book, Uzzie has been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket." He confirmed he would not take legal action, saying: "I did get advised this week that some of the things that've been said are probably defamatory, but I won't be doing that. You've got to move on. It's been eight years. We're moving on. So, you got to draw a line at some point."
