PERTH/SYDNEY: Former Australia opener David Warner has accused captain Pat Cummins of throwing Usman Khawaja “under the bus” after Cummins rejected the former batter’s account of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, known as Sandpapergate.
Warner backed Khawaja’s version of events, saying the claims in his autobiography Sabr were true. Khawaja has written that the entire Australian team knew about the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018.
Cummins, speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Friday, described Khawaja’s claims as “complete and utter nonsense”. He also accused him of being “casual and flippant” about the lives affected by the controversy.
Reacting to Cummins’ remarks on Fox Cricket during coverage of the first ODI between Australia and England in Perth, Warner said he was disappointed with the Australian captain’s response.
“I still stick by Uzzy and what he’s written in that book, because it is the truth, and I really, really support him,” Warner said.
“I actually feel for him at the moment. I actually feel that today, the captain threw Uzzy under the bus, and I’m very, very disappointed about that.”
Warner said he, former captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft continued to face the consequences of the scandal.
“All three of us have paid a big price in this thing. I hadn’t spoken about it in eight years, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to live with these consequences daily. We’ve been served a life punishment,” he said.
Warner also spoke about the personal toll the controversy had taken on him and his wife, Candice, saying they had lost a baby during that period.
Smith and Warner were each suspended for 12 months by Cricket Australia following the incident, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban. The sanctions followed the exposure of Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the ball during the Cape Town Test.
The renewed dispute follows the publication of extracts from Khawaja’s autobiography, which has challenged the established account that knowledge of the plan was limited to Smith, Warner and Bancroft. Cummins and other members of the Australian bowling group have denied knowing about the use of sandpaper.
Langer calls for an end to the dispute
Former Australia coach Justin Langer, who took charge of the team after the scandal, said he hoped the latest exchange would help bring the controversy to a close.
“I think he (Cummins) did what he had to do. Strong leaders, they stand up ... the captain stood up, and Mitch Marsh stood up yesterday,” Langer told SEN.
“Hopefully, that’ll put some sort of line in the sand, because we have to move on. There are too many people being hurt in Australian cricket, and that includes the Australian public.”
Langer said it remained to be seen whether Cummins’ press conference would help resolve the dispute or prolong it.
“We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere ... whether the press conference today is going to help that or hinder that, time will tell,” he said.
(With inputs from media reports)