David Warner has claimed Cricket Australia’s investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal “reeks of a cover-up”.
Usman Khawaja’s claims in his new autobiography have reignited the controversy that rocked Australian cricket eight years ago, with the former opener declaring that the entire Australian team knew that sandpaper was being used to change the ball ahead of their Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.
Warner has now doubled his criticism of Cricket Australia’s investigation into the sagaclaiming they had not interviewed three of the players – Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon – who appeared in that Test, as part of what he called a “weak investigation”.
“To my knowledge, CA (Cricket Australia) did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation,” Warner wrote in an Instagram post.
“If this is correct, then how can CA push the idea that their players didn’t know?
“It seems like they decided who they wanted to blame from the start, ran a poor investigation to serve the purpose and now they want to maintain the false narrative that the bowlers had no idea.
“This stinks of a cover-up.”
Sky Sports News have contacted Cricket Australia for comment.
Cricket Australia will not open new investigations
Earlier, Warner had said that Cricket Australia’s investigation into the sandpaper scandal was “rushed and botched”with the former opener lending his support to Khawaja during a statement released on Monday.
In his autobiography ‘Sabr: Finding my way in cricket and in life’Khawaja said he was not called for an interview by Cricket Australia in the wake of sandpapergate.
Warner and then-captain Steve Smith were handed 12-month bans, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months.
Cummins, Starc, Lyon and Hazlewood were not convicted and issued a joint statement in 2021 explaining that they were unaware that ball tampering was taking place.
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Khawaja said he was not called for an interview after the sandpaper scandal
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg told Australian radio on Saturday SEN that the governing body would not reopen the investigation.
“We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again,” Greenberg said.
“I don’t think anything can be gained from this.
“We have said we are satisfied with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we have received. That includes what we have seen from Usman (Khawaja) and our position has not changed on that.
“There is absolutely no benefit in going back, that is the clear position of the CA board. I think it is good, we have to look forward and the issue was dealt with under a previous leadership in 2018.
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Khawaja claimed the entire Australian dressing room knew sandpaper was being used
“Trying to second-guess past decisions or make an assessment through the prism of hindsight is not something we want to do.”
He added: “When you cut to the core of the challenge we face here, Usman’s version of events is inconsistent with what others have said.
“I can assure you that there are many other players who have a very, very different version of events. And they’ve made it very public since the beginning of 2018, they’ve been very consistent in their position to date.
“From my conversations with a lot of people over the weekend, I don’t think that’s going to change either.”
Warner hits Cummins
Following Khawaja’s revelations, both Cummins and Starc have denied any knowledge of sandpaper, with Australia’s current captain dismissing Khawaja’s claims during a press conference on Friday.
“When he (Khawaja) says we all knew, if by that he means we knew the sandpaper was coming out on the field, he’s 100 per cent wrong. I’ve been saying that over and over for the last eight years,” Cummins told reporters.
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Warner claimed Test captain Pat Cummins had thrown Khawaja under a bus after he denied knowledge of sandpaper on Friday.
Warner, however, hit back at the Australian Test captain’s comments, saying he had “thrown Khawaja under a bus”.
“Pat Cummins was very well prepared this morning (Friday). I still stand by Uzzie and what he wrote in that book,” Warner said.
“That’s the truth, and I really, really stand by it. I actually feel for him right now; I feel like the captain threw Uzzie under the bus today and I’m very, very disappointed about that.
“All three of us paid a huge price for this. I hadn’t spoken to ‘Banger’ (Bancroft) for eight years, but at the end of the day, we have to live with these consequences every day. We have to live with these consequences every day and we’ve been sentenced to life in prison.
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Fast bowler Mitchell Starc denied any knowledge of the use of sandpaper
“So when other people talk about how they’ve been affected by it, there’s nothing worse for me, Steve (Smith) and Cameron (Bancroft), who have to go out there every day.
“We are abusing the police. Yes, we admitted it. But my wife and I paid the biggest price; we lost a child during that time. That’s why it hurts the most, until the truth comes out.”