Cummins rejects Khawaja claims as Cricket Australia rules out fresh inquiry

Australia captain Pat Cummins has rejected allegations arising from Usman Khawaja's memoir about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, addressing reporters for more than an hour in Sydney. BBC News reported that Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening the investigation, despite calls for the governing body to examine the matter again.

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The renewed dispute concerns Australia's third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught with sandpaper on the field. Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith admitted involvement at the time and received lengthy bans. Khawaja's book, released last week, alleges that the entire Australian team knew about the scheme. That allegation remains disputed and is not established by the conflicting accounts now being offered publicly.

According to the BBC's account of the news conference at Cricket Central, Cummins rejected Khawaja's claims and objected to their lack of specificity. He said he was frustrated that a friend had placed him in this position and remained to answer reporters' questions. Asked whether there should be another investigation, Cummins said that decision belonged to Cricket Australia rather than to him.

Khawaja, who retired from international cricket in January, wrote that he had wanted the team to accept collective responsibility after Bancroft was caught. He has since said he did not intend to trigger a campaign against individuals. However, the BBC reported that he has declined to specify exactly which people he alleges knew about the plan, or what each person knew.

Warner has backed Khawaja's account and criticised Cummins' response, according to the report. Smith, Australia's captain at the time of the incident, had not publicly addressed the book's claims while travelling overseas. Bancroft had also not commented on the latest allegations, although the BBC noted that he had previously suggested the bowlers knew.

Cummins said he wanted attention to return to cricket rather than the controversy. His appearance took place as New South Wales faced South Australia in a Sheffield Shield match outside. The competing accounts nevertheless remain unresolved publicly, with the governing body declining a fresh investigation and the players offering sharply different descriptions of what the team knew.