Sayers says he removed sandpaper during Test before Cape Town scandal

Former Australia bowler Chadd Sayers says he carried sandpaper off the field during the second Test against South Africa in 2018, adding a new first-hand account to the dispute over the ball-tampering scandal. BBC Sport reported his comments to SEN Radio on Sunday, in which he supported Usman Khawaja's account while acknowledging that he was describing his own recollection.

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Sayers, 39, was serving as 12th man during the match in Gqeberha, then known as Port Elizabeth, which preceded the Cape Town Test where Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper. Sayers said the material was handed to him to remove during either a wicket break or a drinks interval after tea. He said that handover had not been planned.

According to BBC Sport, Sayers also recalled a dressing-room discussion lasting between 60 and 90 minutes after play on the day Bancroft was caught in Cape Town. He said players considered what had happened and how to respond, including taking collective responsibility. Khawaja has described such a discussion, while Pat Cummins said at his Friday news conference that he did not remember it.

Sayers said he believed all members of the side knew what was happening and that sandpaper had been used in two Tests. Those assertions remain disputed. Cummins has strongly rejected Khawaja's claim that the entire team knew about the plan. Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon have consistently maintained that they were unaware, according to the BBC report.

The intervention follows Sayers' support last week for the recollections in Khawaja's book. Sayers played his only Test in the final match of the South Africa series, taking two wickets in Johannesburg after the scandal had emerged. His latest comments add specific details about his own involvement before Cape Town, as well as his account of the subsequent team discussion.

David Warner separately accused Cricket Australia of concealing information on Saturday, suggesting Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon had not been interviewed during its investigation. That remains Warner's allegation. Warner, Bancroft and then-captain Steve Smith served lengthy bans for their roles in the scandal. The new accounts leave a continuing disagreement between players over who knew about the sandpaper and when.