Is Pat Cummins lying or Usman Khawaja? Sandpapergate 12th-man speaks up amid controversy

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Chadd Sayers, Australia's 12th man during the 2018 Cape Town Test, has backed Usman Khawaja's version of the Sandpapergate scandal. Sayers believes the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper, contradicting Pat Cummins' account.

Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins's contrasting narratives about the Sandpapergate controversy have taken the cricketing world by storm. Khawaja, who reignited the 2018 incident with his new book, Sabr, has alleged that every single member of the Australian team knew that sandpaper was being used on the ball, and that only three cricketers took the fall for it.

Cummins responded to the allegations in a one-hour-long press conference, where he reiterated his stance from 2021: that the Australian bowling group did not know about the use of sandpaper on the ball. He also said he was unaware of Khawaja's claim that the team had discussed taking collective responsibility in the dressing room, a plan that was eventually scrapped.

Now, Chadd Sayers, Australia's 12th man during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, has broken his silence on the matter and offered his version of events. In an interview with SEN, Sayers has backed Khawaja's account, saying he believes every member of the Australian team knew that sandpaper was being used during the South Africa series.

Sayers was quick to clarify that he was not taking sides in the dispute, insisting that he was only recounting what he believed had happened.

"I'm neutral in all this. I'm just trying to tell my side of the story and what I believe happened. There are no sides, they've both (Pat Cummins) been great to me throughout my time in the Test squad, so I'm not taking sides, I'm neutral in all this," Sayers said.

"I'm comfortable sitting here right now and where I stand on the situation, that I believe that everyone in that side knew what was going on and what was being used."

Sayers claimed that he first became aware of the use of sandpaper during the Port Elizabeth Test. He also recalled discussions in the Australian dressing room about how the team could get the ball to reverse swing.

"In Port Elizabeth, so as it's known now, it was used in two Test matches and there were discussions in changing rooms of…

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