No compelling reason: CA rules out sandpapergate review
Scott Bailey |
Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening the investigation into “sandpapergate”, with chief executive Todd Greenberg warning a consensus would never be reached by all players.
Greenberg confirmed on Tuesday he had spoken to several members of the 2018 team since Khawaja’s bombshell ball-tampering revelations became public on Saturday.
In his memoir Sabr, Khawaja claimed the entire Australian team were aware of the use of sandpaper at Cape Town in 2018 and that it had also been used in the previous match.
That version was backed by close friend and former vice-captain David Warner on Monday, who said Khawaja’s story was “100 per cent accurate”.
Warner also described CA’s 2018 investigation as “rushed and botched”, after it found only he, perpetrator Cameron Bancroft and captain Steve Smith knew of the plot.
The three were all banned as a result, with Khawaja labelling them the main victims in his book.
But Greenberg insisted on Tuesday there was no need to restart inquiries, with CA’s board, management and high-performance staff having all changed since 2018.
“We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again. I don’t think there’s anything that can be gained from that,” Greenberg told SEN.
“The chapter was difficult. But there is absolutely no benefit in going back. That’s the clear position of the CA board. It’s time we have to look ahead.
“We have said we’re comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we’ve received.
“That includes what we’ve seen from Usman, and our position hasn’t changed on that.”
Greenberg said his stance was largely due to a difference in opinions from players, having read the interview transcripts from 2018 and spoken to many of them.
Former seamer Chadd Sayers also backed Khawaja’s story this week, and Bancroft said in 2021 it was “self-explanatory” when asked if the bowlers knew about the use of sandpaper.
At the time, the bowling quartet of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon released a statement emphatically denying any such knowledge.
“When you cut to the core of the challenge that we face here, Usman’s version of events is inconsistent with what others have had to say,” Greenberg said.
“Usman is passionate and committed and … that is commendable and understandable.
“I can assure you there are lots of other players who have a very, very different version of events.
“And they have made that very public from the very start of 2018, they have been very consistent in their position right through until today.
“From my conversations with many over the weekend, I don’t think that will change either.”
Starc is expected to be the first bowler to face the media at a Fox Cricket launch on Tuesday, while Greenberg indicated Cummins would also likely speak soon as captain.
Representatives of the bowlers have indicated in recent days their stance would not change, a point Greenberg backed up on Tuesday.
“I am sure David will release a book … it’s highly likely our captain will release a book at some point. Others will also release a book,” Greenberg said.
“What we will read is differing versions of events. That’s what we’re dealing with right now. I don’t think many people can get their head around it.
“The same time, in the same location, in the same incident, people have very different views of what happened and recollections of what happened.
“And how we can account for that is a challenge we are sitting right in the middle of the vortex today.”
Meanwhile, Khawaja took to social media again on Tuesday to deny he had used the scandal to boost book sales or his deal with the publisher.
Instead, the retired opener insisted he has told the story for the good of Warner, Smith and Bancroft.
AAP