Pat Cummins Rejects Khawaja Claims, Calls Them 100% Wrong

Australia captain Pat Cummins hit back on Friday at former team-mate Usman Khawaja’s claims over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, calling them “100% wrong” and “utter nonsense”.

Cummins rejects dressing room claims

“When he says we all knew, if by that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100% wrong,” Cummins said, according to BBC Sport. He added that the allegations were “complete and utter nonsense” and stated he was never an architect of any ball-tampering plan.

In 2018, Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft received suspensions for the plot, with Smith and Warner handed one-year bans and Bancroft given a nine-month penalty.

Cummins and Khawaja played 56 Tests together before Khawaja retired from international cricket in January, and were also domestic team-mates with New South Wales. Reflecting on the publication, Cummins said: “Usman is a friend, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives and reputations.” He added that Khawaja had been casual with his life, the lives of many others, and Australian cricket, though he noted he supported him telling his story.

Reactions across cricket

During his address, Cummins mentioned he had received advice that some of Khawaja’s claims were defamatory, though he confirmed he would not take legal action. He also shared that he had been in contact with Khawaja and Smith since the book’s release, but not with Warner, and addressed circulating footage of a heated street discussion between himself and his wife, Becky.

Other key figures from the sport also responded to the renewed controversy. Mitchell Starc addressed reporters regarding the claims that the dressing room was aware of the ball-tampering scheme and that the ball was also tampered with during the previous Test in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha.

“There are differing opinions of eight years ago,” Starc said. “We were heavily grilled through the process, at the time and since. I won’t speak on behalf of the bowlers but from where I stand my opinion hasn’t changed, my recollection hasn’t changed from what we said in 2021.”

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke weighed in on the discussion, stating he wants the truth to come out and noting that a chance was missed in the wake of the scandal in 2018 and again three years later.

Meanwhile, the Australian Cricketers’ Association released a statement calling the 2018 scandal a low point for Australian cricket for which Smith, Warner and Bancroft paid an enormous and disproportionate price, adding that there are no winners in the issue and nothing can undo what happened. The Cricket Australia board maintained its clear position that there is no benefit in reopening the case.