Pat Cummins: No spat with wife after Usman Khawaja comments

Australia captain Pat Cummins said his wife Becky was among those hurt by Usman Khawaja's account of the 2018 ball‑tampering scandal, as he addressed the fallout from the renewed Sandpapergate controversy in a nearly hour‑long press conference in Sydney on Friday. He denied that he and Becky had been arguing in a viral video outside their Sydney home and said she was frustrated with Khawaja's account and had urged him to speak openly about the episode.

Khawaja's autobiography Sabr questioned how much the team knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 tour of South Africa, prompting fresh discussion of the incident in which Cameron Bancroft was caught on television attempting to alter the ball with sandpaper during the third Test in Cape Town. A Cricket Australia investigation followed that match and resulted in lengthy suspensions for Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft; Cummins, who was part of that Australian side, has consistently denied knowing that sandpaper was being used.

Cummins spent close to an hour answering questions and at one point joked that someone from Guinness World Records should have been present; he also made clear this would be his one opportunity to address the matter publicly. Responding to the footage of him and Becky, he played down the idea of a domestic dispute and expressed frustration at media attention on his family, saying: "It's half very comical. Becky wears her heart on her sleeve. And half ridiculous. We are here talking about something that was dealt with eight-and-a-half years ago. Now, I am walking my daughter in her nappies on the front (of my house) and I have got cameras chasing me and my family. For me that's a bit ridiculous."

On Becky's reaction, Cummins said her frustration was aimed at Khawaja rather than at him, stating: "But, while we are on the topic because we think it was funny, we weren't having a spat. Becky was very frustrated and animated and really unhappy with Usman." He added that Becky had encouraged him to be candid with the media: "She just said, 'Show your emotion. There are a lot of people who are hurting'. She was like, 'Be honest' and tell the details. I have been with Becky even before that tour. She has been with me," he said.

Cummins took particular issue with Khawaja's suggestion that the whole team had known about sandpaper, saying: "When he says 'we all knew', if he said 'we all knew that the sandpaper was being used', I am sure that's 100 percent wrong." He questioned why Khawaja had chosen to revisit the episode in that way while acknowledging the former opener might still carry unresolved feelings: "It looks like it's been sitting heavy on him for a while. It's eight-and-a-half years ago. I get that. Maybe this is Usman's chance and he never really got over it at the time," Cummins said.

Cummins also warned that Khawaja's account had wider consequences beyond the former player's own emotions, saying: "But this is people's real lives and this is serious. This affects not only people, but people's families. I'm one of the lesser ones, maybe this week I'm right there, but talking eight years ago, it was traumatic for those guys. For all of us, for Australian cricket, for fans." He referenced his long relationship with Khawaja and described the timing and tone of the revelations as inappropriate: "I played 15 years, my debut for New South Wales and with Australia, Usman was right there and he's been awesome to me and he's a friend," he said. "To bring it out so flippantly and casually, I think it's irresponsible."

Cummins reiterated that the players had answered questions in the original investigation and had been required to respond again in 2021, urging that the matter not be reopened repeatedly: "We've been very consistent. We dealt with this at the time, we told everyone in the investigation everything we knew. We had to defend ourselves in 2021, we've had to defend ourselves now," he said, adding, "If we have to do this every time another book or idea comes out, it's pretty ridiculous."

While acknowledging Khawaja's right to tell his own story, Cummins said he hoped the latest round of discussion would bring the matter to a close and stated this would be his one public opportunity to address it.