{"id":958054,"date":"2026-11-09T10:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958054\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T10:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T10:00:10","slug":"warner-backs-khawajas-sandpapergate-account-calls-cricket-australia-probe-rushed-and-botched","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/958054\/","title":{"rendered":"Warner backs Khawaja\u2019s Sandpapergate account, calls Cricket Australia probe ‘rushed and botched’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Canadian Press on November 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"\"FILE – Delhi Capitals’ David Warner waves to his fans during the awards ceremony at the end of the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings in Visakhapatnam, India, March. 31, 2024.(AP Photo\/ Surjeet Yadav File)<\/p>\n

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) \u2014 David Warner has supported an account of the so-called Sandpapergate cheating scandal implicating the entire team in the episode that rocked Australian cricket<\/a> in 2018 and led to the lengthy suspensions for him, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.<\/p>\n

Days after excerpts of a soon-to-be-released book written by his Australia teammate Usman Khawaja implied the three players suspended in the Cape Town ball-tampering episode<\/a> were scapegoats for the team, Warner posted on a video on Instagram<\/a> Monday saying: \u201cIt\u2019s 100% accurate what you\u2019ve said.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been eight years since I spoke on this topic. Uzzy, I throw my full support behind you. I thank you for what you\u2019ve done,\u201d Warner said in the video. \u201cNow everyone knows the truth. It\u2019s out there. People wanted to know it. You\u2019ve come out and said it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough time for my family (and), Steven and Cameron, no doubt. But this is what needed to come out. I fully support that, Uzzy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For eight years, Cricket Australia, team management<\/a> and other players have rejected claims<\/a> that everyone was in on the plot to use sandpaper to scuff the ball to make it swing unconventionally through the air during a test against South Africa at Cape Town. <\/p>\n

The host broadcaster filmed evidence of Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball during the match. The resulting scandal engulfed the series, generated global headlines and resulted in the harshest penalties ever imposed for ball tampering in international cricket. <\/p>\n

Bancroft was suspended by Cricket Australia for nine months. Smith and Warner, then the captain and vice-captain of the test team, were suspended from all cricket for a year. <\/p>\n

After making emotional apologies to the Australian public on returning home from South Africa, the three suspended players rarely spoke publicly of the investigation. Smith and Warner made successful returns to the Australian team in 2019.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Warner said the Cricket Australia investigation into the ball-tampering scandal in 2018 was \u201crushed and botched.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khawaja, who was playing in the test match, said he\u2019d wanted the entire team to take responsibility but was advised against it. He retired from international cricket<\/a> in January and said he\u2019d promised Warner, his childhood friend, that \u201cI would tell the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khawaja\u2019s recounting of the episode generated a diverse reaction in Australia. Some supported his decision to publish his version of events, albeit eight years later, and others were critical of the timing.<\/p>\n

Warner, in a message with his video post, wrote \u201csome things are bigger than cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about reopening old wounds. It\u2019s about acknowledging that some wounds never properly healed,\u201d Warner wrote. \u201cI stand with my brother Usman Khawaja. Speaking your truth takes courage, especially when people would rather you stay silent. Time passing doesn\u2019t replace accountability, and asking questions shouldn\u2019t be mistaken for holding grudges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warner, who retired from cricket\u2019s traditional format in 2024 with 112 test caps, said he decided to comment now after talking to his young daughters over recent days about what transpired in that match and later.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps it\u2019s time people stop scrutinizing the person asking for accountability, and start asking those responsible for the investigation to provide it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n See AP\u2019s full cricket coverage here<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

The Associated Press<\/p>\n

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