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Warner accuses Cricket Australia of cover-up over sandpaper investigation

Summarised from 7 outlets · 12 reports · Updated 15 Nov, 06:08 · Archive

David Warner has accused Cricket Australia of a cover-up, claiming three bowlers were not interviewed in the 2018 ball-tampering investigation.

David Warner has accused Cricket Australia of orchestrating a cover-up over its investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, reigniting a dispute that has torn through Australian cricket.

Warner, who received a one-year ban as then vice-captain, claims Cricket Australia did not interview three bowlers – Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – as part of its 2018 investigation. He posted on Instagram on Saturday that the investigation was shoddy and had clearly decided who to blame from the beginning.

"As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation," Warner wrote. "If that's correct, then how can CA push the idea that the bowlers didn't know? It looks like they had decided who they wanted to blame from the very beginning, ran a shoddy investigation to serve the purpose and now they want to maintain the false narrative that the bowlers had no idea. That stinks of a cover-up."

The dispute was reopened this week by Usman Khawaja, who released an autobiography containing allegations that the entire Australian team knew about the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the Test series against South Africa. The scandal centred on Cameron Bancroft being filmed using sandpaper to scuff the ball during the third Test in Cape Town in 2018. Cricket Australia's investigation concluded that only then-captain Steve Smith, Warner and Bancroft were involved. All three were banned: Smith and Warner for a year, Bancroft for nine months.

Warner moved quickly to support Khawaja's claims, saying on Friday that he stuck by what Khawaja had written. He then escalated his attack on the investigation itself on Saturday. The four frontline bowlers – Hazlewood, Starc, Lyon and Pat Cummins – have repeatedly denied knowing about the tampering plan.

Cummins, Australia's Test captain since 2021, held a lengthy press conference on Friday to dismiss Khawaja's allegations as wrong. He said he had been interviewed as part of the 2018 investigation. In response, Warner accused him of throwing Khawaja "under the bus". Cricket Australia has backed its investigation and said players still have the opportunity to share their version of events.

However, Chadd Sayers, a former bowler who was part of the 2018 touring party, has challenged the denials made by Cummins and others. On Sunday, Sayers told radio that he was confident "everyone" in the Australian side knew what was going on. He said sandpaper was used in both the second Test in Port Elizabeth and the third Test in Cape Town, and that there were discussions in the changerooms about how to get the ball to reverse. Sayers said he took the sandpaper from the field after it was used in Port Elizabeth. He also said he found Cummins' press conference awkward and disagreed with the captain getting "personal" with Khawaja.

Warner accuses Cricket Australia of cover-up over sandpaper investigation
Image: Daily Mail Sport

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How it is being reported

In this story: David Warner · Cricket Australia · Usman Khawaja · Pat Cummins · Josh Hazlewood · Mitchell Starc · Nathan Lyon · South Africa

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