Wasim Akram questions Pat Cummins' claim of ignorance over 2018 Sandpapergate
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram questioned Pat Cummins' assertion that he knew nothing about Australia's ball-tampering scandal during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018. The controversy resurfaced after Usman Khawaja wrote in his autobiography that the entire Australian team knew sandpaper was used during that Test.
Usman Khawaja's account has prompted differing responses from current and former Australian players: David Warner backed Khawaja, while Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc rejected the claims. Akram, a former Pakistan captain and fast bowler, offered a technical perspective on how bowlers handle and assess the condition of the ball.
Akram said bowlers are closely involved in looking after the ball and can tell the difference between natural wear and scratches caused by sandpaper. "I saw Pat Cummins, who's a very close friend of mine, a great cricketer, one of the top leaders in world cricket, the way he leads his team from the front, and he said he didn't know," Akram said in a video shared on X.
He described the routine work bowlers do on one side of the ball and contrasted those marks with damage from sandpaper. "It's my opinion, and it can be right or wrong, but as a bowler, when the cricket ball comes in my hand, either it's the fifth over, either it's in the 10th over, either it's in the 50th over - the old ball - where you look after the ball, you shine the one side if it's a dry day, a dry square, you one-bounce throw, you get it scratched a bit, but the sandpaper scratch is totally different than the one-bounce scratch," he said.
Akram suggested supporters could reproduce the effect to see the difference and emphasised he was not taking sides amid the renewed scrutiny on Australian cricket. "As a cricket lover, if you want to check, grab a semi-new cricket ball, grab sandpaper, and rub it in; you know the scratches are totally different," Akram added. "Again, as I said, I'm not taking anybody's side. Australians are known and famous for their straightforwardness, hardness on the field, off the field, and, most importantly, honesty," he said. "The whole nation has been under stress. Eight years ago and back to it again. I hope things get sorted out. This is my take as a bowler. As an experienced bowler, when I look at the ball, I will know straightaway something is not right," he added.
Australia's ball-tampering scandal originated during the third Test in Cape Town in March 2018 when Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball. David Warner and then captain Steve Smith were also found guilty of their roles, and Cricket Australia imposed 12-month bans on Smith and Warner while Bancroft received a nine-month suspension.
Members of Australia's bowling unit — Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon — denied knowing that sandpaper had been used. In 2021, the four bowlers maintained that they had only learnt about the incident after seeing the television footage.
