Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja says the whole team knew about the sandpaper used to tamper with the ball in South Africa in 2018. The Sydney Morning Herald published extracts from his new memoir, Sabr, in Australia on Saturday. The book comes out Tuesday, Nov. 10. In the 2018 Cape Town Test, TV cameras caught batter Cameron Bancroft rubbing the ball with sandpaper to help it swing. Cricket Australia investigated and found that only Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner knew about the plan beforehand. Smith and Warner got 12-month bans, and Bancroft got nine months. Cricket Australia cleared coach Darren Lehmann, but he resigned. Khawaja retired earlier this year after 88 Tests.

Everyone Knew, and Three Players Took the Fall

Khawaja says three players took the blame for something the whole team did.

He says the whole team was in on it. "It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja told the Sydney Morning Herald.

It started a Test earlier, in his telling. Khawaja writes that players talked openly in the dressing room about roughing up the ball during the second Test, in Port Elizabeth. He says that's where they figured out sandpaper did the job. Bancroft volunteered to use it there. Khawaja writes that Smith "essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn't want to know."

He wanted the whole team to share the blame. Khawaja says he told teammates after Cape Town, "We knew what was going on, and we have to take it as a team." "Obviously, it didn't work that way, and those three guys got crucified," he said.

He says he waited for someone else to say it. "I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now," Khawaja said. He also says Cricket Australia never asked him for evidence. Bancroft hinted in 2021 that more people knew. When the Guardian asked him whether the bowlers knew, he said the answer was "self-explanatory."

But the Bowlers Say They Didn't Know

The four bowlers have denied it for years, and Cricket Australia stands by its findings.

The bowlers say they found out from the big screen. Four bowlers played in Cape Town: Pat Cummins, now Australia's Test captain, fast bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, and spinner Nathan Lyon. In a 2021 joint statement, the four said, "We did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands."

They say the umpires saw no damage. In the same statement, the bowlers said the umpires checked the ball after the footage aired. The umpires didn't change it, because it wasn't damaged. The bowlers asked for "an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo."

The captain knew the book was coming. Khawaja gave Cummins a heads-up about the book before Australia's recent tour of South Africa. In October, Cummins said, "Tell your story. It's fine." None of the four has responded to the new extracts yet.

The board isn't budging. "All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process," Cricket Australia said. It added that anyone with new information can still come forward.

Still, It's Old News and Time to Move On

His old coach and a former England captain both want everyone to move on.

Not everyone knew, and tampering was common anyway. "I don't think everyone would have known," Lehmann told ABC Sport. He said "ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket" and "it's been happening for 150 years." He added, "That doesn't make it right either, but that's the case, and we paid a heavy price for that."

He also questioned the timing. "Eight years after the fact and trying to sell a book's a bit different, that's Usman's choice," Lehmann said.

This was never much of a secret. On X, former England captain Michael Vaughan joked that "we finally now know the most hidden secret in the game." Then he asked, "now can we just move on."

Where This Lands

Khawaja says the whole team knew. He says three players took the blame for everyone. The four bowlers have said for years they didn't know until they saw the big screen. Cricket Australia stands by its findings. Lehmann says not everyone knew, and he suggests Khawaja is trying to sell a book. Smith, Warner and Bancroft haven't commented on the new claims.

Sources