Former Australian Test cricketer Usman Khawaja has alleged that the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 series in South Africa was known by the entire team, not just the three players punished by Cricket Australia. In his forthcoming memoir, Sabr, Khawaja writes that sandpaper was first discussed and used during the previous Test in Port Elizabeth, and that he urged players to take collective responsibility after the game.
Khawaja, who is releasing Sabr on November 10, told this masthead that he had kept contemporaneous notes of the tour. He said that during the Port Elizabeth Test, now known as Gqeberha, lighthearted discussions in the dressing room about roughing up the ball culminated in the discovery of sandpaper, with captain Steve Smith saying he didn’t want to know before Bancroft volunteered to use it.
At Newlands, Khawaja said he saw an exchange between Bancroft and a member of the coaching staff that set off the events that would become public. After the sandpaper use was exposed, he tried to convince Smith not to rush into a post-play press conference with Bancroft that would worsen the scandal.
Khawaja said he spoke passionately in the dressing room after the game for the team to take collective responsibility, rather than scapegoating Warner, Smith and Bancroft. He maintains that view today.
“It was all of us,” Khawaja said. “Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
The revelations contradict the findings of Cricket Australia’s investigation, which concluded that only Warner, Smith and Bancroft had prior knowledge. The investigation did not interview all players and staff; Khawaja said he was not called in despite sitting next to Bancroft during the Cape Town Test.
“I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now,” Khawaja said.
In 2021, bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon released a statement denying they had knowledge of “a foreign substance” being taken onto the field to “alter the condition of the ball”. The statement did not address what had been discussed or done in Port Elizabeth.
Khawaja said he spoke to Cummins and Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg about the book before its release and made sure it did not come out during Australia’s recent tour of South Africa. He said they had an opportunity to move past the matter.
Sabr by Usman Khawaja is published by Penguin Random House and available from November 10.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The allegations challenge the official version of one of cricket’s biggest scandals, potentially implicating the entire 2018 team rather than three players.
- Could strain relationships within Australian cricket and pressure Cricket Australia to revisit its investigation.
- Offers the three banned players, Warner, Smith and Bancroft, a chance to have their accounts corroborated after years of public blame.
Background
Sandpapergate, or ball-tampering, occurred during the 2018 Cape Town Test between Australia and South Africa. Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to rough up the ball. Cricket Australia banned David Warner and Steve Smith for 12 months and Bancroft for nine months, concluding that only they had prior knowledge. The incident damaged the reputation of Australian cricket.
Key Perspectives
Usman Khawaja: argues the entire team knew about and was involved in the sandpaper use, and that the three players were unfairly scapegoated.
Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon (2021 joint statement): denied having any knowledge of a foreign substance being used to alter the ball’s condition.
Cricket Australia’s investigation (2018): concluded that only Warner, Smith and Bancroft had prior knowledge of the sandpaper plan.
What to Watch
- The publication of “Sabr” on November 10 and any direct responses from Cricket Australia or named players.
- Whether the new claims prompt a reopening of the investigation or an apology.
- The impact on Khawaja’s relationships with former teammates, as he acknowledges it may cause fractures.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 2 sources: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedKhawaja says Australia's whole team knew about the 2018 sandpaper use.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Khawaja puts it simply: “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.””
- SupportedKhawaja alleges the use of sandpaper was known by the entire team, not just the three players punished by Cricket Australia.Just In: “All players and staff knew about the ball tampering during the infamous 2018 Cape Town Test, Usman Khawaja told Nine newspapers ahead of the release of his book.”
- SupportedKhawaja says sandpaper was first discussed and used in Port Elizabeth, before Cape Town.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “But his most remarkable revelation is that sandpaper was first discussed, and used, by the team during the previous Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.”
- SupportedKhawaja said, “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Khawaja puts it simply: “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.””
- SupportedKhawaja said he had kept contemporaneous notes of the tour.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Usman Khawaja resolved to write down what he had seen and heard. With the knowledge and backing of his wife-to-be Rachel, Khawaja took out his laptop in the team’s Sandton hotel and compiled a set of contemporaneous notes.”
- SupportedKhawaja recounts that lighthearted dressing-room discussions about roughing up the ball led to the discovery of sandpaper, after which Smith said he did not want to know and Bancroft volunteered to use it.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Open, lighthearted discussions were held in the dressing room at St George’s Park about how to find ways to rough up the ball, culminating in the discovery of sandpaper as an effective agent. It was at this point Smith essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn’t want to know.”
- SupportedAt Newlands, Khawaja said he saw an exchange between Bancroft and a coaching staff member that helped set off the events that followed.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “It was an exchange with a member of the coaching staff that helped set off the events that were about to unfold in front of the world.”
- SupportedAfter the sandpaper use was exposed, Khawaja tried to convince Smith not to rush into a post-play press conference with Bancroft, which he thought would worsen the scandal.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Later, after the use of sandpaper was exposed, Khawaja tried to convince Smith not to rush into a post-play press conference with Bancroft that would worsen the scandal.”
- SupportedKhawaja said he spoke passionately after the game for the team to take collective responsibility rather than scapegoat Warner, Smith and Bancroft.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Khawaja also confirms that he spoke passionately in the dressing room after the game for the team to take collective responsibility, rather than scapegoating Warner, Smith and Bancroft.”
- SupportedKhawaja said, “I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.”Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.”
- SupportedKhawaja’s account conflicts with Cricket Australia’s investigation conclusion that only Warner, Smith and Bancroft had prior knowledge.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Khawaja took out his laptop in the team’s Sandton hotel and compiled a set of contemporaneous notes. In particular, he paid careful attention to the chronology of events on the tour that contrasted with an official investigation that concluded only David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft had prior knowledge”
- SupportedThe investigation did not interview all players and staff, and Khawaja said he was not interviewed despite sitting next to Bancroft during the Test.Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News: “Nevertheless, CA did not interview all the players and staff, and Khawaja has always wondered why, having taken his dressing room stand, he was not called in. “I was sitting next to Cam Bancroft that whole Test match, and I didn’t get interviewed,” he says.”