David Warner accuses Cricket Australia of 2018 ball-tampering cover-up

Wasim Akram challenges Pat Cummins' denial as Sandpapergate fallout widens

The 2018 Sandpapergate scandal widened on Saturday, 14 November 2026, when legendary Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram publicly questioned current Australia captain Pat Cummins' denial of any foreknowledge of the ball-tampering plan in Cape Town. Akram stated that any experienced bowler would instantly recognize the distinct marks left by sandpaper compared to normal wear and tear during a match.

Akram shared his views in a video on X on Saturday, just a day after Cummins addressed the controversy in a 68-minute press conference on November 12, where the Australian skipper rejected claims that the wider team knew about the plot. While describing Cummins as a close friend, a great cricketer, and one of the top leaders in world cricket, Akram argued that bowlers handle the ball constantly and know its condition intimately.

I saw Pat Cummins, who’s a very close friend of mine, a great cricketer, one of the top leaders in world cricket, the way he leads his team from the front, and he said he didn’t know. It’s my opinion, and it can be right or wrong, but as a bowler, when the cricket ball comes in my hand, either it’s the fifth over, either it’s in the 10th over, or either it’s in the 50th over—the old ball—where you look after the ball, you shine the one side if it’s a dry day, a dry square, you do a one-bounce throw, and you get it scratched a bit, but the sandpaper scratch is totally different than the one-bounce scratch.

Wasim Akram, via Cricket Addictor

Akram added that anyone can test the difference by rubbing sandpaper on a semi-new ball. He noted that he was not taking any side in the dispute, but observed that the ongoing fallout has placed the entire Australian cricket team under stress again eight years after the original incident.

The renewed controversy erupted following revelations in former Australia batter Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr. Khawaja claimed that the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball against South Africa, writing that he sat next to Cameron Bancroft during discussions on the matter but was never spoken to by investigators. His account directly challenges the long-standing position that only a handful of players carried out the plot.

David Warner accuses Cricket Australia of a deliberate cover-up

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, David Warner threw his weight behind Khawaja's version of events while training his sights squarely on Cricket Australia's investigative process. He questioned how the governing body could maintain that the bowling group was completely in the dark if three of its senior figures were allegedly left out of the inquiry.

As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation. 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 and 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.

David Warner, via Cricket Addictor

The fresh accusations land just ahead of Australia's opening ODI of the summer against England, plunging the national team into a bitter public dispute over accountability. The fallout from the March 2018 scandal originally saw Warner and then captain Steve Smith handed 12-month suspensions, Cameron Bancroft receive a nine-month ban, and Warner slapped with a lifetime leadership ban. Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has maintained that there is no compelling reason to reopen the investigation, leaving the board and its players at loggerheads over what really happened inside the dressing room.

Sandpapergate refers to the 2018 Cape Town Test match where television cameras caught Cameron Bancroft using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball. The ensuing public outcry and government pressure forced sweeping sanctions from Cricket Australia and triggered independent reviews into the team culture. The affair remains one of the darkest chapters in modern Australian cricket history.

Cricket Australia pushed back against Warner's allegations on Saturday, insisting that every player was given the opportunity to speak during the initial investigation. The board stated that players could also come forward with new evidence in the eight years since, adding that it has respected every player's right to provide their own version of events.

Despite the board's defense, the bowling group of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon has consistently denied any foreknowledge. In 2021, the four bowlers and Warner issued a joint statement maintaining they were not aware the sandpaper was being taken onto the field, adding that they only became aware of the incident after seeing television footage on the big screen in Cape Town. They pointed out that umpires Nigel Llong and Richard Illingworth inspected the ball after the incident became public but did not replace it because they found no visible damage. The players noted in their 2021 statement, None of this excuses what happened on the field that day at Newlands. It was wrong and it should never have happened. Starc reinforced that stance on Tuesday at the launch of Australia's summer of cricket, telling reporters that his recollection had not changed and that the bowlers only discovered the incident when it flashed on the big screen in Cape Town.

A dressing room divided ahead of the summer

The war of words escalated on Friday, 13 November, when Pat Cummins addressed Khawaja's book during his 68-minute press conference. Cummins strongly rejected Khawaja's claims as complete and utter nonsense, while also dismissing the assertion that a similar ball-tampering episode had taken place in a Test before Cape Town. However, Cummins offered a candid admission about the team culture at the time, acknowledging that the players had operated with a win-at-all-costs mentality.

Hours after Cummins spoke, Warner hit back on Friday afternoon to defend his childhood friend Khawaja, criticizing the current skipper for putting Khawaja in a difficult position instead of supporting his teammate. Warner did not mention Cummins by name in his subsequent Saturday Instagram post, but his pointed critique of the board's investigation deepens the rift within the team.

The public feud exposes deep fissures between the players who bore the heaviest penalties in 2018 and those who escaped sanction. While Warner highlighted the lasting personal toll of the scandal, former Australia coach Justin Langer weighed in to urge closure, stating that the team has to move on from the past. With Cricket Australia refusing to reopen the probe and players locked in conflicting public accounts, the central question remains whether any further evidence will ever emerge to settle what the wider dressing room truly knew in Cape Town.