David Warner alleges Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon were not interviewed in 2018 sandpaper probe

David Warner said on Instagram on Saturday that Cricket Australia did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon in its 2018 investigation into the sandpaper ball‑tampering incident in Cape Town. He added in his post: "That stinks of a cover up."

The three bowlers Warner named were part of a bowling quartet that included Pat Cummins at the time, and the probe followed footage of Cameron Bancroft handling sandpaper on the field in Cape Town. A Cricket Australia investigation later sanctioned Warner, Bancroft and Steve Smith after finding the trio had prior knowledge of the scheme.

Warner posted his claim a day after saying Pat Cummins had thrown Usman Khawaja "under the bus" when the current Test captain countered Khawaja’s account in a marathon press conference on Friday. Cummins said: "When he says ‘we all knew’, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field he’s 100% wrong." He added: "He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense. I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper."

Warner reiterated his support for Khawaja while speaking on Kayo Cricket in the build up to the one-day international between Australia and England, saying he would "stick by Uzzy and what he’s written in that book". "It’s the truth and I really, really support him," Warner said on Friday. "I actually feel for him at the moment. I actually feel that the captain today actually threw Uzzy under the bus, and I’m very, very disappointed about that."

Warner also reflected on the personal consequences for the three players punished in 2018, saying: "All three of us [Warner, Bancroft and Smith] have paid a big price in this. I hadn’t spoken about it in eight years. But at the end of the day, we’ve got to live with these consequences daily and we’ve been served a life punishment." He added: "It’s been very difficult, because the way that it was handled in the first place, it was hard for us to go back and actually give more evidence. I felt like it was a botched investigation. It was a quick one to get it over and done with."

A Cricket Australia spokesperson reiterated the governing body's position on opportunities to give evidence, saying: "As we have stated previously, all players were given the opportunity to speak at the time of the initial investigation and have had the ability to come forward with new evidence in the eight years since. Subsequently, CA has respected every player and former players right to provide their own version of events." The controversy was reignited by Khawaja’s allegations in his memoir Sabr and during interviews to promote the book.

Warner made his latest remarks while speaking on Kayo Cricket during the build up to the first one-day international between Australia and England in Perth.