Australia cricket captain describes Khawaja's Sandpapergate claim as 'utter nonsense'

“Complete and utter nonsense.” That's how Australia captain Pat Cummins responded to Usman Khawaja's claim that the entire team was in on the ball-tampering plot that became known as “Sandpapergate” and rocked cricket in 2018.

Cummins staged an extraordinary news conference Friday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, hours ahead Australia’s home-season opening one-day international against England in Perth, to address the allegations published this week in his longtime teammate's autobiography .

He opened the packed news conference by saying he was prepared to stay and answer questions all day if needed, because he wanted to draw a line under the sorry saga.

In the immediate aftermath of a Cricket Australia investigation into the cheating attempt three players received unprecedented bans — Steve Smith and David Warner, then captain and vice-captain, for 12 months; Cameron Bancroft, who was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball, for nine months.

The episode has remained so divisive that even eight years later the innuendo and acrimony will mean Cummins' comments in a 70-minute live stand-up will not end questions over who knew what and when.

Cummins, who was part of the bowling attack in that test at Cape Town against South Africa, accused Khawaja of being “casual” and “flippant” by suggesting everyone in the locker room was aware of the sandpaper plot.

“When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he’s 100% wrong,” Cummins said. “I’ve said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.

“But I think Usman actually says things that are actually far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense.”

Khawaja said he published his account of the episode in a bid to support the three players who he believed had been made scapegoats for the team.

He's had public support from Warner, who responded on social media that the Cricket Australia investigation at the time was rushed and botched. Warner and Smith resumed their international careers in 2019 and remained key players for Australia. Warner retired in 2024, and Smith is still in the squad.

The management has been overhauled. Head coach Darren Lehmann was replaced after the South Africa series by Justin Langer, who was succeeded by Andrew McDonald in 2022. Veteran wicketkeeper Tim Paine replaced Smith as test captain before Cummins took over in 2021.

Cricket Australia has a new chairman and CEO, Todd Greenberg, who has ruled out reopening the Sandpapergate investigation.

The longtime bowling group, including Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, in 2021 rejected innuendo that everyone was in on the plot to use sandpaper to help make the ball “reverse” — or swing unconventionally through the air. Cummins and Starc have publicly confirmed their version of events again this week.

But in his autobiography, Khawaja said he was sitting beside Bancroft in the locker room when he heard of a plot to tamper with the ball, and urged caution.

Cummins, who was 13 tests into his international career in that Cape Town match, on Friday turned the spotlight back on Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January after his 88th test match.

“I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam to be careful when using sandpaper,” Cummins said, adding that Khawaja had been instrumental in helping the Australian squad turn around what he described as a sometimes ugly, win-at-all-costs culture.

“That’s not the Usman that I know. It’s not the Usman that I think has been part of a team that’s helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years,” he said. “And the one that would have stopped that from happening there and then.”

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