Whole Australia team knew of sandpaper use - Khawaja

Published6 November 2026

Usman Khawaja has claimed the entire Australia team knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball in the final Test of their 2018 series with South Africa.

In extracts of his autobiography - Sabr - published in the Sydney Morning Herald,, external the former opening batter said Australia had also used the ball-tampering tactic in the Test before the infamous match in Cape Town.

The incident - nicknamed 'sandpapergate' - was widely condemned and led to bans for captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and fellow batter Cameron Bancroft.

"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja, 39, told the Sydney Morning Herald.

The four Australia bowlers who played in that match, including current Test captain Pat Cummins, have consistently denied they had any prior knowledge of the plan.

In 2021, Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon issued a joint statement saying they "did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field".

Darren Lehmann, who was cleared of wrongdoing, resigned as head coach in the wake of the incident.

He denied Khawaja's claims and said it "drags up some bad memories".

He told ABC Sport: "I don't think everyone would have known. You do know ball tampering is going on because it's been happening for 150 years. It's just how it's being done, and how you would know to that extent?

"I can only speak to what I know, and I know ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket. Now it is obsolete.

"That doesn't make it right either, but that's the case, and we paid a heavy price for that."

Smith 'threw his hands in the air'

Khawaja, who scored 6,229 runs in 88 Tests, said that discussions about tampering with the ball began during the second Test of the series against South Africa.

That match, played at Port Elizabeth - now Gqeberha - led to what Khawaja said was the "discovery of sandpaper as an effective agent" after "open" discussions held in the dressing room at St George's Park.

"At this point Smith essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn't want to know," Khawaja wrote.

Australia were rumbled in the third Test when television cameras clearly showed Bancroft using sandpaper on the ball to help generate reverse swing.

Khawaja was also shocked not to be asked to provide any evidence during Cricket Australia's investigation.

"In an ideal world, I don't want to do this. I don't want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth," he said.

"The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now."

While Smith, Warner and Bancroft - all batters - were punished, there was never an explanation of how bowlers Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon did not notice a change in the state of the ball.

In a 2021 interview with the Guardian, Bancroft was asked if the bowlers knew and replied: "It's pretty probably self-explanatory."

Days after Bancroft's interview was published, the quartet released their statement which said: "We feel compelled to put the key facts on the record again.

"We did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands.

"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.

"We respectfully request an end to the rumour-mongering and innuendo. It has gone on too long and it is time to move on."

Before Australia's recent Test series in South Africa - which the Proteas won 2-1 - Cummins said he had spoken to Khawaja about the publication of the book.

The 33-year-old said he has no concerns about potential sandpapergate revelations and felt it was "all dealt with then" and the team had "moved on".

"He didn't go into too much detail, just basically gave me the heads-up that he is doing a book and, as always, no worries," Cummins said on 8 October.

"Tell your story. It's fine. It's obviously a long time ago and all the investigations, everything was done back then and we answered every question a million times."

In a statement Cricket Australia said: "There has been a great deal of speculation in the eight years since the 2018 Cape Town Test, including extensive media coverage throughout last month's series in South Africa.

"During this time there has been the ongoing opportunity to present any relevant information, and this remains the case. All relevant information presented to CA to date has been properly considered and we remain comfortable with the findings of our integrity process."

Khawaja also said he had consistently argued that the team should take responsibility together, including in the dressing room after the Cape Town Test.

He wrote: "I said: 'Take this as a team. We did this as a team. We knew what was going on, and we have to take it as a team'.

"Obviously, it didn't work that way, and those three guys got crucified."

In his memoir, named after an Arabic term for resilience and endurance, Khawaja dedicated the chapter on Cape Town to Smith, Warner and Bancroft.

The left-handed batter said he thought the trio "deserve" the "justice" of collective blame from the team as a whole.

He added: "None of those three want to be the first to say anything. And rightly so, it will just be hearsay and 'their word' if they do. They needed someone else to say something.

"But I'm not doing this for any other reason than I think it's the right thing to do."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

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