Whole Australia team knew of sandpaper use - Khawaja
· Sports · BBC Sport, Cricbuzz, Al Jazeera
Usman Khawaja states in his autobiography that every member of the Australia team, including bowlers and support staff, knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa. Khawaja writes that discussions about tampering began during the second Test in Port Elizabeth, where sandpaper was discovered as an effective method, and that then-captain Steve Smith "threw his hands in the air" and said he did not want to know. The four bowlers who played in the third Test — Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon — have consistently denied prior knowledge, issuing a joint statement in 2021 saying they did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field. Khawaja says he was never asked to provide evidence during Cricket Australia's investigation. Only Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were sanctioned for the incident.
Why it matters
The claims reopen a scandal that defined Australian cricket and raise questions about the completeness of Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation and the credibility of the bowlers' denials.
Read the original report — BBC Sport
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