Former Australia opener David Warner says Usman Khawaja’s account of the 2018 ball tampering scandal is accurate and criticises how Cricket Australia handled its inquiry.
Tamrah News Desk | 9 November 2026
David Warner has backed Usman Khawaja’s Sandpapergate claims, saying the account of the 2018 ball tampering scandal is accurate and that Cricket Australia’s inquiry at the time was flawed. According to ABC News, Warner made the comments in an Instagram video on Monday, his first public remarks on the affair in eight years. ABC reported that he is the first of the three banned players to respond since Khawaja’s comments became public.
What Did Warner Say About Khawaja’s Account?
Sky Sports reported that Warner called Khawaja’s version
“100 per cent accurate”.
ABC News said he described the process that followed the scandal as
“rushed and botched”.
Warner asked how the inquiry could be thorough when Khawaja was never interviewed, even though he sat next to Cameron Bancroft in the dressing room.
ABC reported that Warner said he was not pointing fingers or reopening old wounds. He framed the issue as one of accountability and transparency. He also said he took a few days to respond because he had to explain the events to his daughters.
What Are the Sandpapergate Claims Khawaja Made?
Khawaja, 39, made the claims in extracts from his autobiography Sabr, published by the Sydney Morning Herald, according to Yahoo Sports. He said the entire team knew about the plan to use sandpaper in the Cape Town Test. Al Jazeera reported that he also said the tactic was used in the previous Test at Port Elizabeth, now called Gqeberha.
ESPNcricinfo reported that Khawaja said no Cricket Australia investigator interviewed him. It also reported that he briefed captain Pat Cummins and chief executive Todd Greenberg about the book before its release. Khawaja summed up his claim with the words “It was all of us”, according to Cricinfo.
How Have the Bowlers, Lehmann and Cricket Australia Responded?
Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon said in a joint statement in 2021 that they did not know a foreign substance was on the field until they saw the images on the big screen, as Cricinfo noted. Sky Sports reported that Cummins said last month he had told Khawaja to share his story.
Former coach Darren Lehmann told ESPN he did not believe everyone knew. ESPN added that Khawaja did not contact Lehmann before the claims became public. Chadd Sayers, who played the final Test of that series, told Code Sports that
“Everything Usman says in his article is accurate”
according to Cricket News. Sayers also asked why Khawaja stayed silent at the time.
On the Cricket Australia investigation, Al Jazeera reported that the governing body said it was comfortable with its original findings but remained open to new evidence. News24 reported that Cricket Australia stood by its 2018 findings and said all relevant information presented so far had been properly considered.
Will Cricket Australia Reopen the Investigation?
No outlet reviewed for this report has confirmed a decision to reopen the inquiry. In 2021, Gulf News reported that Cricket Australia would look again only if someone offered more knowledge. It said no one had presented new information that cast doubt on the findings. The position described by Al Jazeera this week leaves the same door open.
Background to the 2018 Ball Tampering Scandal
Bancroft was caught using sandpaper on the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018. Reuters reported at the time, in a story carried by Stabroek News, that Lehmann resigned after Cricket Australia cleared him of wrongdoing. The same report said Steve Smith and Warner received 12 month bans. The Independent reported that Bancroft served nine months. News24 noted that Warner retired from international cricket in 2024.
Conclusion
Warner’s intervention adds weight to the debate over the Sandpapergate claims and puts fresh attention on the Cricket Australia investigation of 2018. Readers searching for David Warner Sandpapergate statement updates, Usman Khawaja Sabr claims, the ball tampering scandal explained, Cameron Bancroft sandpaper revelations and Sandpapergate news today can follow Tamrah News and our latest cricket news for confirmed developments.
