England batsman Joe Root stated that he does not believe ball-tampering was widespread across international cricket around the time of Australia’s 2018 “Sandpapergate” controversy. Root addressed the topic in Australia ahead of England’s upcoming three-match one-day international series beginning on Friday in Perth.
Root was responding to recent claims made by former Australian batter Usman Khawaja in his newly released autobiography, Sabr. In the book, Khawaja alleged that every player in the Australian squad was aware of the scheme to manipulate the condition of the ball during the Test match in Cape Town, South Africa, eight years ago. Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball, resulting in a nine-month ban, while captain Steve Smith and David Warner each received one-year suspensions.
Reactions to Khawaja’s Allegations
In his autobiography, Khawaja also claimed that the Australian side experimented with lifting the seam of the ball during the 2017-18 Ashes series on home soil, which Australia won 4-0 under Smith’s leadership. When approached by Sky Sports News regarding the assertions, the England and Wales Cricket Board declined to comment.
When asked whether he felt ball-tampering was rife in the sport eight years ago, Root distanced himself from the claims, as reported by Sky Sports. “I can only speak from my own experiences, that’s not how I feel,” Root said. He further emphasized that he had no insider knowledge of what transpired inside the Australian setup at the time.
“We obviously have no idea (about it).” Root explained. “It’s all speculation. I wasn’t in that dressing room. I don’t know what went on. I don’t want to speculate, as I said. My focus is with this team right now and what we’ve got coming up.”
Australian Team Response and Tour Schedule
Khawaja has reportedly canceled subsequent promotional interviews for his book following an awkward exchange on Australian broadcaster ABC’s 7.30 program. Meanwhile, Mitchell Marsh, who is captaining Australia’s white-ball squad for the series against England and played in the 2018 Cape Town Test, is expected to address the matter during a scheduled press conference on Thursday.
Key Australian fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and spinner Nathan Lyon—who previously released a joint statement in 2021 denying prior knowledge of sandpaper use—are not participating in the white-ball matches against England. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Starc reiterated that he had no advance knowledge of the ball-tampering incident. Cummins also mentioned last month during Australia’s Test tour of South Africa that Khawaja had informed him about writing the book, stating, “He just basically gave me the heads-up that he’s doing a book, and yeah, as always, no worries. Tell your story. It’s fine,”
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg, who was not with the governing body when the scandal occurred, stated that there is no compelling reason to re-open an official inquiry. England’s tour begins with three ODIs in Perth, Adelaide, and Hobart, followed by five T20 internationals across Melbourne, Carrara, Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra through early December.
