Former Australia opening batter Usman Khawaja has claimed that the entire national team knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball during their 2018 series against South Africa. In extracts from his autobiography published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Khawaja stated that the illegal tactic was also utilized in the Test match preceding the infamous Cape Town fixture.
Discovery of Sandpaper and Team Involvement
The ball-tampering scandal, commonly known as “sandpapergate,” drew widespread condemnation and resulted in suspensions for then-captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and batter Cameron Bancroft. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, the 39-year-old Khawaja said, “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
Khawaja recounted that discussions regarding ball manipulation began during the second Test of the series at Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha. He wrote that open conversations in the St George’s Park dressing room led to the “discovery of sandpaper as an effective agent.” Regarding Smith’s reaction, Khawaja wrote, “At this point Smith essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn’t want to know.”
During the third Test, television cameras caught Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball to generate reverse swing. Khawaja expressed surprise that Cricket Australia’s investigation never asked him to provide evidence. “In an ideal world, I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth,” he said, adding that he expected the full truth to emerge after eight years.
Bowlers’ Denials and Khawaja’s Call for Shared Responsibility
While Smith, Warner, and Bancroft faced heavy punishment, questions persisted over how the four bowlers in that match—Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon—did not notice changes to the ball. In 2021, Bancroft suggested in an interview with the Guardian that it was self-explanatory whether the bowlers knew. Shortly after, the four bowlers issued a joint statement denying any prior knowledge of foreign substances.
The bowlers maintained they only learned of the substance when seeing stadium screen images at Newlands. They noted that match umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth inspected the ball afterward and found no damage requiring a replacement. Cummins recently stated that he spoke with Khawaja about the book and felt unconcerned, noting that the matter was thoroughly investigated in the past.
Khawaja revealed he argued in the dressing room immediately following the Cape Town Test that the squad must share the blame collectively. He dedicated a chapter of his memoir, titled Sabr, to Smith, Warner, and Bancroft, arguing that the trio deserves collective accountability from the entire group. “None of those three want to be the first to say anything. And rightly so, it will just be hearsay and ‘their word’ if they do. They needed someone else to say something,” Khawaja wrote.
