Khawaja's 'Sandpapergate' claims: Cummins to respond on Friday

Detailed summary

Pressure has been mounting for Cummins to front the media since the retired Khawaja reignited the explosive issue last weekend ahead of the release of his autobiography.

Australia captain Pat Cummins said he plans to address Usman Khawaja's "long list of allegations" about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal on Friday after taking time to "better understand" them.

Pressure has been mounting for Cummins to front the media since the retired Khawaja reignited the explosive issue last weekend ahead of the release of his autobiography.

In the book, Khawaja alleges that the whole team, including Cummins, knew about the plot to rough up the ball with sandpaper to make it swing during the third Test against South Africa at Cape Town eight years ago.

He also claimed the tactic was used in the second Test at Port Elizabeth.

A Cricket Australia probe concluded only David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were in the know, with all three sent home in disgrace and subsequently banned.

Cummins and fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all denied publicly in 2021 that they knew about the plan.

Cummins said he would give his version of events on Friday ahead of the latest round of the domestic Sheffield Shield competition.

"Happy to speak with any and all media about the events of this week," he said on social media.

"I've taken some time to try and better understand the long list and full extent of Uzzy's allegations so I can respond properly."

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Daily Star. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.