David Warner has publicly backed Usman Khawaja’s account of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, saying the revelations made by his former teammate and childhood friend are “100 per cent accurate”.
In his yet-to-be-published book Sabr, Khawaja claims the entire Australian Test team knew sandpaper was being used and that players openly discussed ways to rough up the ball during the South Africa tour eight years ago. Those assertions clash with the long-standing position held by Cricket Australia and several team figures that only a small number of people were aware of the plan in Cape Town.
Warner, who was Australia’s vice-captain at the time, was suspended from domestic and international cricket after the incident and was also permanently banned from leadership roles. Cameron Bancroft and then-captain Steve Smith were made “wholly responsible” for what happened.
Cricket Australia responded with a statement defending its original investigation and saying it remained comfortable with the findings. On Monday night, Warner took to social media to support Khawaja and thank him for speaking up.
“It’s been eight years since I’ve spoken on this topic. And Uzzy, I throw my full support behind you. I thank you for what you’ve done,” Warner said. “It’s 100 per cent accurate what you’ve said. Now everyone knows the truth. It’s out there.
“People wanted to know it, you’ve come out and said it, and now people are saying why eight years on, talking about selling a book. This is Usman’s story. This is what Usman believes. Uzzy wrote down every single thing from that day on…thank you.”
Warner also criticised how Cricket Australia handled the aftermath in 2018, calling the interview process “rushed and botched”. He questioned how the inquiry could be viewed as comprehensive if Khawaja, who was sitting directly next to Bancroft in the dressing room, was never formally interviewed.
“Now this whole interview process was rushed… Uzzy was not interviewed. How is that a thorough investigation? It baffles me,” Warner continued. “We’re not here to point fingers, and we’re not opening old wounds. It’s about accountability, transparency, ensuring that the truth is properly examined.
“And perhaps it’s time people stop scrutinising the person asking for accountability, and start asking those responsible for the investigation to provide it.
“Now, there were a lot of statements and inaccuracies over the last eight years that were out in the media by people, and there’s a lot of people who stayed silent.”
He said the renewed attention has been difficult on his family and explained it took him a few days to speak because he needed to talk it through with his daughters. During the 2018 tour of South Africa, Warner’s wife Candice and their two daughters were travelling with him.
“The last couple of days I’ve been talking to my daughters, and that’s why it’s taken me a couple of days to get this out because I’ve had to tell them exactly what had happened,” Warner explained. “Especially my 12-year-old Ivy wanted to know why we were holding her, why there were so many cameras, why we were crying on TV.
“That was a hard thing to do. But one thing I did say is ‘girls, tell the truth, because lies will eventually get out’.
“It’s a very tough time. This is for everyone in Australia. It’s been the question everyone’s been asking. Uzzy, you said how it is, it’s 100 per cent accurate.
“It’s been a tough time for my family, Steven [Smith], and Cameron [Bancroft] no doubt. But this is what needed to come out.
“I fully support that.”
Bancroft, speaking to reporters at Melbourne Airport on Monday, refused to add anything further about the controversy that led to his nine-month ban. “In regard to Uzzie’s book and the media that’s come about there over the last couple of days, I don’t have any further comments to add at this stage,” he said.
The comments from Warner and Khawaja have also brought renewed focus on Australia’s bowlers from that South African tour. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon said in a statement three years after the scandal that they had no idea sandpaper was involved.
“We did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands,” the statement read. “And to those who, despite the absence of evidence, insist that ‘we must have known’ about the use of a foreign substance simply because we are bowlers, we say this: The umpires during that Test match, Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth, both very respected and experienced umpires, inspected the ball after the images surfaced on the TV coverage and did not change it because there was no sign of damage.”
Those players have not yet responded to the newer claims made by Khawaja and Warner.
Back in 2018, Smith said at the infamous press conference that “the leadership group knew about it” and were “not proud of it” when asked about the ball-tampering.
