“No compelling reason” to revisit
Cricket Australia will not reopen its investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Chief executive Todd Greenberg ruled out a fresh inquiry on Tuesday, days after Usman Khawaja claimed in his new book, “Sabr”, that the entire Australian dressing room knew about the plan to use sandpaper in Cape Town.
Speaking to SEN radio, Greenberg said: “We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again.” He argued that Khawaja’s account is inconsistent with what many others have said, and that the matter was dealt with under previous leadership. Only David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were banned, because Cricket Australia has always maintained that those three were the only ones privy to the plot.
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Warner backs Khawaja, bowlers yet to speak
The pressure comes from inside the old dressing room. Warner said on Monday that Khawaja’s version of events was “100 per cent accurate”. Greenberg, who was not at the governing body in 2018, insisted other players have a “very, very different version” and that he does not expect the bowlers to change their position.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, two of the four bowlers at Newlands alongside Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood, are due to address the issue in the coming days or weeks. All four put out a joint statement in 2021 denying any knowledge of the plan. None of them is in the squad for the upcoming white-ball series against England, but Mitchell Marsh, who played in that Test, captains the side and faces the media on Thursday, a day before the first ODI in Perth.
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