Khawaja Claims Entire Australia Team Knew of 2018 Ball-Tampering Plot

Former Australian opener Usman Khawaja has alleged in his forthcoming memoir 'Sabr' that the entire Test team was aware of ball-tampering during the 2018 South Africa tour, contradicting Cricket Australia's official findings that only Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were involved.

In interviews ahead of the memoir's release, Khawaja stated: "It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us." He claimed sandpaper was first discussed and used during the second Test in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) before the infamous Cape Town incident at Newlands. According to Khawaja's account, open discussions occurred in the dressing room about roughing up the ball, with sandpaper identified as effective. He said that after these discussions, Smith "essentially threw his hands in the air and said he didn't want to know."

Khawaja revealed he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia's investigator despite sitting next to Bancroft in the dressing room during the Cape Town Test and witnessing an exchange between Bancroft and a member of the coaching staff that preceded the ball-tampering incident. After the game, Khawaja said he urged the team to take collective responsibility rather than scapegoating the three individuals. He compiled contemporaneous notes during the tour at a Sandton hotel and has now decided to release his account after eight years.

This account conflicts with public statements from several players. In 2021, bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon released a joint statement denying knowledge of a "foreign substance" being taken onto the field to alter the ball. Bancroft had previously stated it was "self-explanatory" that bowlers were aware. Khawaja expressed reluctance to come forward but said he felt obliged after eight years. "I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now," he said.

Smith and Warner were each banned for 12 months; Bancroft received a nine-month ban. Warner was also banned from all leadership positions for life, though that ban was later overturned in 2024, allowing him to captain in domestic Twenty20 competition. Khawaja credited Justin Langer's arrival as coach with helping the Australian team find "humility" after the scandal. He had already briefed Australia captain Pat Cummins and Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg about the book's contents before its release.