Warner says Khawaja is telling the truth over sandpaper-gate
Former Australian cricket captain David Warner says Australian batsman Usman Khawaja is telling the truth when he says “all of us” knew about the so-called sandpaper-gate plot.
In an interview with Nine newspapers, Khawaja said: “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
Batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Test match against South Africa in Cape Town.
Steve Smith, who was Australian captain at the time, said “the senior leadership team” knew about the plan in a press conference after the third day’s play.
Smith and then-vice-captain David Warner were banned for 12 months and stripped of their leadership positions in the national team. Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
Warner has since come out in support of Khawaja’s claim in a video posted to Instagram and thanked him for his honesty.
“The claim is 100% accurate,” Warner said, before criticising the Cricket Australia investigation that cleared the rest of the team of any involvement.
“Uzzie was sitting next to Cameron Bancroft. Uzzie was not interviewed. How is that a thorough investigation?”
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said the organisation does not see “any compelling reason” to reopen the investigation.
In 2021, Bancroft claimed the bowlers in the Test match, current Australian captain Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, were aware of the ball-tampering scheme.
All four players denied the allegations in a joint statement.
SBS News is Australia’s trusted news source for the latest news from Australia and across the world.
Subscribe to the SBS News YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sbsnews_au
Follow SBS News on X: https://www.twitter.com/SBSNews
Follow SBS News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sbsnews
Apple News: https://trib.al/MTx0gUe
For the latest news, visit www.sbs.com.au/news
Network Terms & Conditions: https://sbs.com.au/terms
Privacy Policy: https://sbs.com.au/privacy
Feedback or complaints: https://sbs.com.au/complaints
