Australian players brace for questions after Usman Khawaja alleges wider ball-tampering in new book

Usman Khawaja's autobiography Sabr, published on Tuesday, claims knowledge of ball tampering during Australia's 2018 tour of South Africa extended beyond the three players disciplined at the time, and current Australian cricketers including one-day captain Mitchell Marsh and Test captain Pat Cummins are preparing to face media scrutiny as a result.

Khawaja dedicates a 21-page chapter titled "Sandpaper" to the episode and says he urged teammates to accept collective responsibility; he also writes there is more to tell than appears in the book. The incident in Cape Town in 2018 saw Cameron Bancroft caught using sandpaper on the ball and led to suspensions for Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner. Khawaja writes: “I’m not writing [this chapter] because I think it will help the sales of my book – if it was for sales, I could write another 10 pages about it.”

The revelations have prompted immediate attention on current players. Marsh will be the first current player to face the media since extracts of Khawaja’s book were published this week, and he is due to speak at his customary preview press conference on Thursday ahead of the first ODI in Perth on Friday. Cummins, also part of the Cape Town side, has been singled out by former players and commentators as someone who will need to answer further questions in the coming weeks.

Khawaja alleges in the book that, at a meeting, it was suggested the trio had “put their hands up to cop it” because “apparently, we had to look after the coaches, because they were more vulnerable than us”. He also asserts that two players refused to take collective responsibility and that a coach encouraged Bancroft to tamper with the ball. Those specific allegations have prompted calls for fuller explanations from participants and observers alike.

Cricket Australia issued a response on Saturday to the material in Sabr, saying: “All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process.” Former coach Darren Lehmann, now an ABC commentator, denied knowing the extent of the team’s ball-tampering, saying: “You know something’s going on because that’s been happening for a long period of time, but not to the extent, and that’d be everyone, I imagine. Everyone would think something’s going on, but what do they know? That [is something] only an individual can answer.”

Former Australia captain Mark Taylor expressed disappointment that Khawaja revisited the episode and warned Cummins would face further questioning, telling Channel Nine: “That’s why I’m disappointed, because it’s now going to overshadow the summer ahead.” He added: “It will be obviously very tough for Pat and the bowlers because they’re going to have to answer further ongoing questions which they’ve now done for eight years.”

David Warner’s reaction has been limited since the book’s extracts appeared. The autobiography details Warner’s frustrations with a 2021 media statement from the quartet of bowlers who played in the Newlands match, which the bowlers said they did not know “a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball” until images appeared on the big screen at Newlands. Warner, playing for the Kathmandu Gorkhas in the Nepal Premier League, scored 66 off 50 in his most recent appearance and has avoided the issue in multiple media appearances in Nepal.

Marsh will face questions on Thursday before Australia’s first ODI in Perth on Friday, and Pat Cummins is expected to be asked about the book in the coming weeks; Warner is due to return to Australia in two weeks and is scheduled to appear alongside former England captain Michael Vaughan at a ticketed Melbourne Q&A event. Vaughan wrote in The Times over the weekend that the matter resurfacing “could completely dismantle” the Australian team and added: “Australia are a resilient bunch, but this is going to be a difficult few weeks and a lot can happen between now and next summer. This has happened at the worst possible time for Cummins and his team.”