Australia captain Pat Cummins has come out fighting against former team-mate Usman Khawaja, branding his allegations over the sandpaper scandal as “complete and utter nonsense” and “100 per cent wrong”.
Khawaja’s newly released autobiography contained a series of explosive claims about the ball-tampering drama of 2018, suggesting that the entire squad were party to a plot which ended with Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft assuming all blame.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, the former opener concluded: “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
Cummins previously distanced himself from the conspiracy in 2021, co-signing a statement alongside fellow bowlers Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon denying knowledge.
In the aftermath of Khawaja’s bombshell claims, which have been backed up by Warner, Cummins invited the media to question him at Cricket Central in Sydney and launched a passionate defence.
“When he says we all knew, if that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100 per cent wrong,” Cummins said.
“I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening. But I think Usman actually says things that are 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. There was no master-plan around using illegal methods. There’s no grand plan. There’s no team meeting. There’s no bowlers saying this is what must happen.”
Reacting to the appearance, Warner reiterated his backing for Khawaja’s account.
“Pat Cummins was very well prepared this morning, (but) I still stick by Uz and what he’s written in that book. It is the truth and I really support him,” Warner told Kayo Sports.
“I really feel for Uzzie at the moment, I actually feel like the captain threw Uzzie under the bus and I’m really, really disappointed about that.”
An emotional Warner also referenced a miscarriage his wife Candace suffered in 2018, something she has previously attributed to the stress of the episode.
Cummins, meanwhile, shared his frustration at Khawaja’s conduct, suggesting he has acted carelessly by casting inflammatory aspersions on his former team-mates.
“Usman is a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations,” Cummins said.
“In his book, he’s been casual with my life and the lives of many others and, I think, Australian cricket. I support him to tell his story, 100 per cent. I’m glad he feels like he can but we have to be accountable for the things that we say and do.
“It affects real people. This really affects Australian cricket and I think the way that he’s presented his story, I think he’s done that in a very casual manner. That’s what I’m grappling with at the moment because I don’t think it’s okay.”
Cummins went as far as suggesting he and others could have a legal case against Khawaja, only to rule out pursuing such action.
“I did get advised this week that some of the things that have been said are probably defamatory,” he said.
“I won’t be doing that (suing). You got to move on. It’s been eight years. You’ve got to draw the line at some point.”
Cummins took questions for over an hour, rejecting a media adviser’s offer to wrap the session, ostensibly in a bid to exhaust the matter once and for all.
Yet, given the level of intrigue and the contrasting opinions on both sides, that seems optimistic.
“I’m here to answer it today and I won’t speak about it again,” he said.
“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.
“If we have to do this every time another book or idea comes out, it’s pretty ridiculous.”
Cummins’ wide-ranging account of events came less than 24 hours after a bizarre press conference by Mitch Marsh, the stand-in ODI captain and another survivor from the 2018 team, during which he repeatedly refused to speak on the subject.
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