Usman Khawaja Accuses Entire Australian Cricket Team of Knowing About Ball Tampering

Former Australian Test batter Usman Khawaja accused his entire 2018 national squad on Saturday of knowing about the Cape Town ball-tampering scheme, directly challenging Cricket Australia's official findings that blamed only three players.

Excerpts from Khawaja’s upcoming autobiography, "Sabr," published by the Sydney Morning Herald, say that dressing room discussions about using sandpaper to alter the ball occurred during the tour of South Africa eight years ago.

The account contradicts the governing body's 2018 investigation, which concluded that only captain Steve Smith, vice captain David Warner and batter Cameron Bancroft had prior knowledge of the illegal tactic.

"It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us," Khawaja said in the published book extracts.

Khawaja wrote that the squad first discussed altering the ball during the second Test in Port Elizabeth, now called Gqeberha, where Bancroft volunteered to use sandpaper before television cameras caught him in the third Test.

According to Khawaja, Smith walked away from the initial dressing room discussions, saying he did not want to know about the plan.

"In an ideal world, I don't want to do this," Khawaja said, adding that he expected the full account would have emerged over the past eight years.

Cricket Australia suspended Smith and Warner for one year and Bancroft for nine months following the match at Newlands, while clearing all other players and coaching staff of wrongdoing.

Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann, who resigned following the 2018 series, disputed the claim that the entire touring party shared knowledge of the plot.

"I don't think everyone would have known," Lehmann said on ABC Sport radio on Saturday, describing the issue as an individual matter.

Australia’s four frontline bowlers from the match—Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon—declined to comment through representatives on Saturday, having previously issued a 2021 statement denying any prior knowledge.

Peter Collins, an ethicist who helped run the player review after the scandal, urged Cricket Australia to reopen its investigation in response to Khawaja's account.

"Cricket Australia needs to take an active leadership role in following this up to resolve the issues," Collins said to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Cricket Australia said on Saturday that it remained satisfied with the findings of its original inquiry, and added that anyone with fresh information could still come forward.

The governing body has not indicated whether it will interview Khawaja or re-examine the incident, leaving unresolved whether Australian cricket leaders will face renewed pressure to reconsider the penalties and findings of 2018.