The controversy resurfaced after Khawaja, in an interview with Nine newspapers, alleged that Australia’s use of sandpaper was not an isolated incident and that the plan had been known across the team. Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has challenged Usman Khawaja’s assertion that the entire Australian dressing room was aware of the 2018 ball-tampering plan in Cape Town, while claiming that altering the condition of the ball had been commonplace in international cricket for decades.
“Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. Lehmann, who was in charge of Australia’s Test side during the infamous Cape Town Test, disputed the suggestion that every member of the touring contingent was aware of the scheme. He acknowledged that ball tampering had been a longstanding issue in cricket but drew a distinction between general awareness of the practice and knowing about the specific method employed by Cameron Bancroft. “I don’t think everyone would have known (about the use of sandpaper). It’s just how it’s being done, and how you would know to that extent? That’s an individual case by case, to be fair. I can only speak to what I know, and I know ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket. Now it is obsolete. The investigation resulted in lengthy suspensions for Bancroft, then captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner, while Lehmann subsequently stepped down from his coaching position. Khawaja has also claimed that he proposed taking collective responsibility after Bancroft was exposed. “I don’t remember that. There were two change rooms obviously, and there were meetings going on everywhere. Meanwhile, Cricket Australia reiterated its confidence in the conclusions reached through its original investigation.
Because it’s been happening for 150 years, you do know ball tampering is going on. The Cape Town episode in March 2018 triggered one of the biggest controversies in Australian cricket history after Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to roughen the ball.
All of us,” Khawaja told Sydney Morning Herald. That doesn’t make it right either, but that’s the case, and we paid a heavy price for that,” Lehmann said. However, Lehmann said he could not verify whether such a conversation had taken place, explaining that the squad was divided between separate dressing rooms and that he was occupied with meetings involving Cricket Australia. To be perfectly honest I was in meetings with Cricket Australia a lot,” Lehmann said. Responding to the renewed discussion surrounding the scandal, a spokesperson said the governing body remained open to considering any additional relevant information.
