Cricket Australia responds to explosive Khawaja claims

Cricket Australia says it remains comfortable with the findings of its investigation into the 2018 sandpaper scandal despite explosive new claims from Usman Khawaja that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plot.

In its first response to Khawaja’s revelations, published in this masthead on Saturday, Cricket Australia defended its integrity process and insisted all relevant information provided to the governing body had been properly considered.

“There has been a great deal of speculation in the eight years since the 2018 Cape Town Test, including extensive media coverage throughout last month’s series in South Africa,” read a CA statement.

“During this time there has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information, and this remains the case.

“All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process.”

Former Test batsman Cameron Bancroft, who received a nine-month suspension for his role in the scandal, has read Saturday’s article. He received a call from Khawaja giving him a heads-up regarding his latest claims in an interview ahead of his book launch next week.

Bancroft has largely remained silent about the events of 2018, although he suggested in a 2021 interview that it was “self-explanatory” whether Australia’s bowlers knew about the ball tampering.

Khawaja’s account directly challenges the findings of Cricket Australia’s investigation, which concluded that only David Warner, Steve Smith and Bancroft had prior knowledge of the plan to use sandpaper on the ball at Newlands.

The retired Test batsman claims sandpaper was first discussed and used during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha, rather than Cape Town, where Bancroft was caught on camera concealing the material in his pants.

“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” Khawaja said.

Khawaja, who compiled notes after the scandal erupted, also questioned why he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia despite sitting beside Bancroft in the Newlands dressing room.

“I was sitting next to Cam Bancroft that whole Test match, and I didn’t get interviewed,” he said.

The revelations have renewed scrutiny of Australia’s bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, who issued a joint statement in 2021 denying knowledge of a foreign substance being taken onto the field in Cape Town to alter the condition of the ball.

Khawaja believes Warner, Smith and Bancroft were unfairly singled out for punishment when the entire team should have accepted responsibility.