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Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
Khawaja says entire Australia camp knew of 2018 ball-tampering plan
Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has challenged the official account of the 2018 sandpaper scandal, saying players and staff across the touring party knew about the plan.
Khawaja made the claim while promoting his memoir Sabr, saying discussions about using sandpaper had begun during the previous Test in Gqeberha before Cameron Bancroft was filmed damaging the ball in Cape Town. He said the responsibility belonged to the team as a whole rather than only to Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.
Smith and Warner received one-year bans and Bancroft was suspended for nine months. Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon said in a 2021 joint statement that they had not known a foreign substance was being used.
Cricket Australia said all relevant information presented since the incident had been considered and that it remained satisfied with its integrity process. Cummins said Khawaja was entitled to tell his story but that the team had answered questions at the time and moved on.
P.A. Mendes--JDB
