Australia captain Pat Cummins has spoken to former team-mate Usman Khawaja about the upcoming autobiography Khawaja is writing, but said he has no concerns about potential revelations relating to sandpapergate. Australia begin their first Test series in South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal erupted in Cape Town in 2018, when Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned for their part in the plot.
Since then, the four Australia bowlers who played in that match, including Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, have denied any prior knowledge of the scheme. In a joint statement released in 2021, they said they did not know a foreign substance had been used on the ball until images appeared on the big screen, and they asked for an end to the rumour-mongering. Cummins said Khawaja had only given him a brief heads-up about the book, adding: "Tell your story. It's fine."
Cummins said the matter had been dealt with years ago, that every question had been answered "a million times", and that the group had moved on. Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January, will see his autobiography released in November.
The Test in Durban is the first of a demanding run of away series for Australia, who will later travel to India and defend the Ashes in England next year. With Cameron Green ruled out through injury, the tourists are likely to choose between Cooper Connolly and Nic Maddinson for the middle order.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing