Usman Khawaja claims the entire Australian team knew about ball-tampering using sandpaper in the final Test of their 2018 series against South Africa. He says discussions began during the second Test at St George's Park, where Smith reportedly threw his hands up in frustration. The incident, dubbed 'sandpapergate', led to bans for captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and batter Cameron Bancroft.
The four bowlers who played that match — Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon — denied prior knowledge, later issuing a joint statement saying they saw no foreign substance on the ball. Bancroft told the Guardian the bowlers 'must have known', but the umpires inspected the ball and found no damage. Cummins said he spoke to Khawaja about the book and had no concerns.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing