A press conference in Sydney
Pat Cummins has stayed quiet for days. That ends on Friday morning. The Australia Test captain announced on X today that he will speak to “any and all media” at 9.30am in Sydney, after training at Cricket Central ahead of New South Wales’ Sheffield Shield match.
His reason for the delay was simple. He wanted time to understand what he called the “long list and full extent” of Usman Khawaja’s allegations before responding properly.
Those allegations come from Khawaja’s new autobiography, Sabr. The former opener writes that every player in the Australian dressing room knew about the ball-tampering plan in Cape Town in 2018, the Test in which Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera with sandpaper. Only three men were punished at the time: Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and David Warner. Warner has since called Khawaja’s account “100 per cent accurate”.
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Why the bowlers are under the spotlight
The book puts the focus back on the attack that stood to gain most from a roughed-up ball. Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon issued a joint statement in 2021 denying they knew a foreign object had been taken onto the field. Starc repeated that position this week, saying his recollection had not changed.
Khawaja also alleges the ball was interfered with in the Test before Cape Town, in Port Elizabeth, and that Australia experimented with lifting the seam during the 2017-18 home Ashes, which they won 4-0. Starc said the Port Elizabeth claim was news to him.
The board is backing its captain
Cricket Australia chairman David Boon told The Australian that Cummins’ job is not under threat and praised the “integrity” of his leadership. Chief executive Todd Greenberg has already ruled out reopening the investigation, arguing that Khawaja’s version is inconsistent with what other players have said for eight years.
The timing is awkward. Friday is also the first ODI against England in Perth. Cummins has been rested from the white-ball series, and stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh, who played in Cape Town, declined to discuss the book today, saying only that a lot of people are still “hurting”.
Michael Clarke has been less patient. The former captain pointed out that Cummins would probably never have led Australia without the scandal, since Smith would still have the job.
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