# Whole Australia team knew of sandpaper use – Khawaja

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/whole-australia-team-knew-of-sandpaper-use-khawaja/
- Published: 2026-11-06T22:06:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T22:25:12+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/cjdx33kyzk3lo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Africa, Entertainment, Sport, TV, World

## Key points

- Khawaja says the entire team knew about sandpaper use.
- He says discussions began in the previous Test.
- Australia’s bowlers have denied prior knowledge.

## Summary

Usman Khawaja says the whole Australia team knew about ball tampering with sandpaper during the 2018 South Africa series, including before the notorious Cape Town Test. His account challenges the bowlers’ longstanding denials and renews questions about whether responsibility for the scandal fell only on the three players who were punished.

In extracts from his autobiography, Khawaja says discussions began in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, where sandpaper was identified as an effective way to alter the ball. Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft received bans after the Cape Town incident, while Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon said in 2021 they did not know a foreign substance had been taken on to the field. Khawaja, who scored 6,229 runs in 88 Tests, says he was not asked to provide evidence in Cricket Australia’s investigation.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.