Cummins backs Khawaja to 'tell your story' on sandpaper scandal
Pat Cummins says he has no issue with Usman Khawaja revisiting the sandpaper scandal in his new autobiography.
Khawaja rang his captain before the news broke to say the book would cover Cape Town 2018. Cummins told him: “no worries, you can tell your story, that’s fine.” The exchange was reported by The Guardian on 8 October 2026.
Speaking ahead of Australia’s tour of South Africa, Cummins said the matter had been fully dealt with. “All investigations were done at the time and it was dealt with then,” he said. The group has moved on.
Khawaja also alerted Cricket Australia’s boss to the book’s contents, according to Stuff.co.nz. Nine journalist Lachlan Harper reported on 8 October 2026 that Cummins confirmed Khawaja had contacted him directly about the sandpaper details.
The book is still under wraps. Penguin Random House, the publisher, has not made advance copies available, ESPNcricinfo reported. It was written without a ghost writer and is due for release next month.
It will be the first autobiography from any Australian player who took part in that 2018 Cape Town Test. The timing is sharp. Release is scheduled for days after the end of Australia’s first Test tour to South Africa since that match, with the opening Test of this tour scheduled for Friday in Durban.
For anyone new to the story, ball-tampering means illegally changing the condition of the ball to make it swing or seam more in the air or off the pitch. In Cape Town in March 2018, Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera rubbing sandpaper on the ball during the third Test against South Africa.
The fallout was severe. Steve Smith was suspended for a year, David Warner was given a 12-month ban and Bancroft was suspended for nine months. A Cricket Australia investigation found no other player had knowledge of the plan. Australia’s bowlers later issued a statement denying knowledge that a foreign substance would be taken onto the field.
Khawaja played in that Test. He is a childhood friend of former opening partner Warner. At the time, there was a report that Khawaja had suggested the team should take joint responsibility rather than leave it to the three sanctioned players.
Cummins was close to that dressing room but not in the XI. He was 12th man, the reserve player carrying drinks and fielding as cover, for the Newlands Test where the scandal broke.
What makes this stand out for fans is the wait for a player’s-eye account. Coaches, administrators and TV crews have had their say, including in the Australian docu-series The Test. Khawaja’s version is the first from inside the ropes in Cape Town.
