Warner backs Khawaja after Cummins rejects ball-tampering claims

David Warner has backed Usman Khawaja's account of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal after Australia Test captain Pat Cummins publicly rejected claims that the entire team knew about the plan. ABC News reported that Warner criticised Cummins during television coverage of Friday's Australia-England one-day international in Perth, extending a dispute reignited by Khawaja's newly published autobiography.

Watch the highlights:

Warner said he was disappointed by Cummins's treatment of Khawaja and continued to support what his former opening partner had written. According to ABC's report, Warner also renewed his criticism of Cricket Australia's original investigation, arguing that it had been rushed and that the three sanctioned players had been left to accept responsibility. Those comments are Warner's assessment of the process, rather than a new official finding.

Cummins had addressed reporters in Sydney earlier on Friday, denying that he knew sandpaper was being taken onto the field during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. Sky Sports reported that he also rejected the suggestion that he and other players had designed the scheme. His denial directly contradicts Khawaja's broader account of what the team knew at the time.

The scandal resulted in 12-month bans for then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain Warner, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month suspension after being filmed using sandpaper on the ball. The Associated Press reported that Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening the investigation. The latest public exchanges therefore have not been accompanied by a new disciplinary inquiry into the incident.

Cummins's position follows a joint statement issued in 2021 with fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon denying prior knowledge that a foreign substance had been taken onto the field. Sky Sports reported that Starc reiterated his position this week. Cummins also said on Friday that he did not intend to take legal action over the claims in Khawaja's book.

Warner, meanwhile, described the consequences for himself, Smith and Bancroft as continuing long after their suspensions, saying they still face abuse over the episode. ABC reported that he did not expect the matter to rest. The public accounts remain in conflict: Warner supports Khawaja's version, while Cummins maintains that he had no advance knowledge of the sandpaper plan.