Khawaja's Autobiography Reopens Sandpapergate: 'It Was All of Us'
Former Australian opener Usman Khawaja has claimed that the entire Australia team was aware of the use of sandpaper in the Cape Town Test of 2018. In extracts from his autobiography, Sabr, published in the Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, November 7, Khawaja wrote: "It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us."
Khawaja, 39, played 88 Tests and scored 6,229 runs before retiring after the final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground in January 2026. His autobiography Sabr — Arabic for patience and endurance — is scheduled for release on Tuesday, November 10. In the book, he says the sandpaper tactic was discussed openly in the Australian dressing room during the second Test of the 2018 series at Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and that the team discovered sandpaper as an effective way to get reverse swing there and used it in that Test, before the infamous Cape Town incident. Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball during the third Test at Cape Town.
The claim directly challenges Cricket Australia's findings from 2018, which determined that only captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Bancroft had prior knowledge of the tampering plan. Smith and Warner were banned for 12 months, with Warner also banned from leadership positions for life. Khawaja said he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia's investigation, even though he sat next to Bancroft in the dressing room throughout that Cape Town Test. Bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon denied any prior knowledge in a joint 2021 statement.
Cricket Australia issued a statement on Saturday, hours after the extracts appeared, defending the conclusions of its earlier investigation, saying all relevant information presented to it to date "has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process." The board has not announced any fresh investigation.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纽约市政厅（资料图）。New York City Hall. (file photo)
