Cricket Australia stands by integrity findings after Khawaja book allegations

Cricket Australia has defended its handling of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal after allegations in Usman Khawaja's autobiography renewed scrutiny of who knew about the incident. The Guardian reported on Monday that the governing body had issued a statement on Saturday saying it had considered all relevant information presented to it and remained satisfied with the findings of its integrity process.

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Khawaja's book, Sabr, is due to be released on Tuesday and contains a 21-page chapter on the controversy. According to the Guardian's report by Jack Snape, Khawaja writes that he urged his teammates to share responsibility for what happened. He argues that Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner should not have borne the consequences alone. Those claims represent Khawaja's account, rather than new findings by Cricket Australia.

Bancroft was caught using sandpaper on the ball during Australia's 2018 Test in Cape Town. He was subsequently suspended, as were Smith, then the captain, and Warner, his vice-captain. Current Test captain Pat Cummins and one-day international captain Mitchell Marsh also played in that match. Their presence in the side does not itself establish knowledge of the tampering.

The autobiography alleges that awareness of the wrongdoing went beyond the three sanctioned players. It also claims that two players declined to accept collective responsibility and that a coach encouraged Bancroft to tamper with the ball. Khawaja further describes a players' meeting at which, in his account, protecting coaches was offered as a reason for the trio accepting responsibility. These allegations were reported by the Guardian and have not been established as new disciplinary findings.

Former Australia coach Darren Lehmann, who resigned at the end of that series, denied knowing the extent of the team's ball-tampering, the Guardian reported. The newspaper also recalled a 2021 statement from the four bowlers involved in the Cape Town Test, including Cummins. They said they had not known a foreign substance had been taken onto the field to alter the ball until images appeared on the stadium screen.

The competing accounts leave the central question of wider knowledge disputed. Cricket Australia's latest response maintains its existing position, while Khawaja's book challenges how responsibility was allocated. Marsh is scheduled to speak to reporters on Thursday before Australia's first ODI against England in Perth on Friday, providing the next scheduled media appearance for a current player identified in the report.