Sandpaper controversy returns after eight years: Who really knew about Australia's ball-tampering scandal?

After eight years of one of the biggest scandals in Australia cricket history, questions have been raised about who really knew about the Sandpapergate scandal.

As revelations continue to come out from former Australian batter Usman Khawaja’s autobiography, ‘Sabr’, he has questioned past reports that only three players really knew about the ball tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018.

Former Australian vice-captain David Warner, one of the three who was punished for the Sandpapergate scandal, has publicly supported Khawaja’s claims and questioned the integrity of Cricket Australia’s original investigation.

This has put the Australian cricket administration, former players and current players under the spotlight once again. Most notably, it has raised questions about whether only the players caught were punished.

What was Sandpaper controversy about?

March 2018 saw Australia tour South Africa for a Test series. During the third test at Newlands, Cape Town, television footage showed Australia batter Cameron Bancroft using a piece of sand paper to try and change the condition of the cricket ball.

This was to roughen up one side of the ball to give Australia’s speedsters an advantage with reverse swing. Ball tampering is not allowed under cricket’s rules and regulations.

Bancroft tried to hide what he was doing, but the footage was caught on television. This led to an international scandal.

After an investigation, Cricket Australia found that Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were involved. Bancroft received a 9 month suspension whilst Smith and Warner were banned from playing international and domestic cricket for 12 months.

Smith lost his captaincy and Warner was banned permanently from leadership positions. The rest of the team and coaching staff were found innocent of the specific ball tampering scandal.

The scandal was seen as a huge failure to Australia’s culture of playing fairly. Whilst Smith and Warner returned to play internationally, they were still affected by the scandal.

Why are we talking about this now?

Khawaja released his autobiography titled ‘Sabr’ on November 11, 2026. At the time of the 2018 tour of South Africa, Khawaja was a member of the Australian squad. He has claimed that it wasn’t just three players who knew.

Khawaja has claimed that there were conversations around using sand paper to change the ball. He claims that this was attempted during the second test at St George’s Park, Gqeberha.

Khawaja has also claimed that the whole team were aware. "All of us," Khawaja told the Nine newspapers. He also questioned why the full truth didn’t come out after eight years.

One of the most interesting parts of his claims were that he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia.

If this is true, it raises questions about how thoroughly they looked into the knowledge of the players.

However, these are just Khawaja’s claims. Warner speaks out in support of Khawaja

The most interesting aspect of this situation is that Warner has spoken up in support of Khawaja.

"100% accurate," Warner said in an Instagram video on November 9. He also criticised the investigation by Cricket Australia claiming it was rushed and poorly done.

Warner noted that Khawaja wasn’t even interviewed by the governing body despite being there at the time and sitting next to Bancroft.

He also mentioned that there were a few inaccuracies in the media over the years. As Warner was one of the three who were punished in 2018, his support makes Khawaja’s claims very significant. However, it does not prove that the whole team knew.

Warner also said that it wasn’t about reopening old wounds, but about holding people accountable.

What are the Australian bowlers saying?

The allegations have put the Australian bowling unit under the spotlight.

Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon were all on the 2018 team. They have previously denied knowing that a foreign substance was being used to change the ball.

In 2021 they made a joint statement denying any claims they had prior knowledge. They claimed they only became aware of the foreign substance due to the footage being shown on the big screen at the stadium.

Starc reiterated that nothing had changed since they had made their statement in 2021. He also said he was unaware of the sand paper being used in the previous Test at Gqeberha.

Cummins initially said that they had already been investigated and had moved on. However, on November 12 he announced he would speak to the media the following day. He said he wanted to fully understand the extent of Khawaja’s claims.

This is very important as Cummins is Australia’s current Test captain. His comments could influence the way the situation develops.

Australian cricket board don’t seem interested in investigating

Despite increased criticism, Cricket Australia do not seem to be interested in re-investigating.

He argued that Khawaja’s claims don’t match the statements of other members of the team, many of whom have stuck to their statements.

Greenberg also said that the players had been given the opportunity to give any relevant information. However, he also said that the board don’t believe anything would be achieved from re-investigating.

This has caused another area of contention. Whilst Khawaja and Warner want to hold people accountable, Cricket Australia feel the situation was handled properly in 2018.

Also note that Greenberg wasn’t leading Cricket Australia at the time of the original investigation.

Former coach and players reject claims

Not everyone involved with the 2018 team agree with Khawaja.

Former head coach Darren Lehmann questioned the claims that the whole team knew. He said knowing that ball tampering had occurred isn’t the same as knowing how it happened.

Former batting coach Graeme Hick was more direct with his rejection of the implications Khawaja was making. He said he hadn’t heard or known about any talks regarding ball tampering in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

Australia’s white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh, who was on the tour to South Africa, also chose not to go into detail about his own memories during a press conference on November 12.

England batter Joe Root also refused to speculate, saying he had no knowledge of what went on in the Australian dressing room. He also doesn’t think ball tampering was necessarily widespread in international cricket at the time.

On November 12 it was reported by The Sydney Morning Herald that former Australian bowling coach David Saker had advised Smith and Bancroft not to reveal that they had used sand paper in Cape Town during their initial media appearance.

"You can't say sandpaper." Saker allegedly said.

The report also mentions that tour sources and previous comments from Saker have been mentioned. These are allegations and shouldn’t be considered as facts. This shows how the situation has now developed as it now involves the behaviour of the coaching and support staff.

Was the investigation not thorough?

This is arguably the most important question. The 2018 investigation by Cricket Australia found that only Smith, Warner and Bancroft had prior knowledge. All the other players and staff were cleared.

However, Khawaja’s claims raise questions about how thorough the investigation was. His claims include the fact that he wasn’t interviewed.

There is a difference between knowing that a team were trying to change the ball, talking about changing the ball and actually being involved. There is also a difference between knowing that a foreign substance was being taken onto the pitch.

Just because a few players knew that there were talks about reverse swing or manipulating the ball it doesn’t mean that they knew what Bancroft was doing in Cape Town.

Just because they benefitted from the changed ball doesn’t mean they had prior knowledge of how it was changed.

This is important to note as the situation is now becoming allegations.

If an investigation was done, they would need to look into individual stories, evidence and how much each individual was involved. They wouldn’t be holding the whole dressing room accountable.

More to the situation

Sandpapergate has always been more than just about a changed cricket ball.

The scandal became a leadership issue and raised questions about accountability and the culture of one of the most successful cricket teams in the world.

Smith, Warner and Bancroft were suspended for a long period of time and faced criticism. However, they continued their careers and the incident became a memorable part of their careers.

Khawaja’s latest claims have raised questions about whether there was more accountability than just the three players.

His autobiography has also brought up questions about Australia’s methods of creating reverse swing during the 2017-18 Ashes series against England. He mentions experimenting with raising the seam of the ball. However, this shouldn’t be assumed to be evidence of the same crime as in Cape Town.

Overall, there is a question about whether the system for holding people accountable in cricket has become too focused on those who have been caught and not focused on the culture.

At the moment there is no new official findings that would change Cricket Australia’s findings from 2018. Khawaja has made his claims, Warner has supported him, a few ex-teammates have denied some of his claims and Cricket Australia won’t re-investigate.

Whilst it has been eight years since the controversy, there is still some contention over accountability. The most interesting thing about Sandpapergate coming back into the limelight is that the main question now isn’t who had the sandpaper but whether the whole sporting institution wanted to know how much their members knew.