Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening its investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal after David Warner backed Usman Khawaja’s claim that the plan was known throughout the Australian team.
Chief executive Todd Greenberg said on Tuesday that Khawaja’s account conflicted with recollections provided by other players. He maintained that the governing body remained satisfied with its findings.
“We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation,” Greenberg told SEN radio.
Meanwhile, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc rejected suggestions that he knew anyone planned to take sandpaper onto the field. Speaking at Fox Cricket’s season launch, he maintained that his recollection had not changed.
Starc referred to a joint statement he issued in 2021 with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. All four denied knowing that a foreign substance would accompany players onto the field to alter the ball.
Warner had intervened on Monday through an Instagram video, endorsing Khawaja’s account as entirely accurate and criticising Cricket Australia’s original investigation.
He argued that investigators had rushed the interviews and failed to question Khawaja, despite his proximity to Cameron Bancroft in the dressing room. Warner thanked his childhood friend for speaking publicly.
Khawaja’s autobiography, “Sabr”, describes discussions about ball tampering that he says involved players and staff across the team. An extract released on November 7 challenged the finding that only three players knew about the Cape Town plan.
On November 8, Khawaja explained that he had promised Warner he would eventually share his account.
Warner said their purpose was to secure accountability and a proper examination of events. He criticised inaccuracies in public accounts and others’ silence over the intervening years.
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Cricket Australia banned Warner, Steve Smith and Bancroft after the attempt to roughen the ball with sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa at Newlands.
Its investigation concluded that prior knowledge of the plan was confined to those players.
Greenberg said players had opportunities to provide information during the original inquiry and throughout the years since. He maintained that they could still submit relevant material, although the governing body saw no reason to restart the investigation.
(With additional input from Reuters and ABC News.)
