Usman Khawaja Claims Entire Australia Squad Knew About 2018 Ball-Tampering

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja claims the entire national cricket team knew about the ball-tampering plot during the 2018 tour of South Africa. In extracts from his new memoir titled 'Sabr', published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Khawaja states that discussions about using sandpaper started during the second Test in Port Elizabeth at St George's Park.

The Scandal

Khawaja writes that the team discovered sandpaper was an effective agent during open dressing room talks, adding that then captain Steve Smith threw his hands in the air and said he did not want to know. The scandal later broke during the third Test in Cape Town when television cameras caught Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball to generate reverse swing. While Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Bancroft received year-long bans, Australia's bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon consistently maintained they were unaware of the plot. Khawaja says he argued in the dressing room that the entire team should take collective responsibility for the incident.

Context

Ball-tampering is a serious offence in cricket that involves illegally changing the condition of the ball to help bowlers get more swing or movement. The 2018 Cape Town incident remains one of the biggest scandals in modern cricket history, leading to major changes in team culture and leadership for Australian cricket.