Warner Backs Khawaja's Account of 2018 Sandpaper Scandal

David Warner has backed Usman Khawaja's account of Australia's 2018 ball-tampering scandal, calling it "100% accurate". In a video statement posted on Instagram, the former opener said "everyone knows the truth" and that "people wanted to know it".

Ball-tampering means changing the condition of the ball illegally, often to help bowlers make it swing or reverse. Australia were found to have used sandpaper on the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018. Steve Smith and Warner were each banned for one year, and Cameron Bancroft for nine months.

The story has returned to the headlines because of Khawaja, a former Australia opener. He has said the entire Australia team knew about the use of sandpaper. He also said Warner, Smith and Bancroft had prior knowledge of the plan to use it in Cape Town. Khawaja made these claims in his autobiography, and Reuters reported that he disputes the findings of the 2018 investigation.

Khawaja has also denied that he threw anyone "under the bus" with his comments. Earlier, he and Shaun Marsh said they had not been interviewed during the investigation, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald in 2022.

Warner, who retired from international cricket in 2024, has gone further than Khawaja on the handling of the affair. He described the investigation as "rushed and botched".

For fans, the key distinction is between what was decided and what is now being said. The bans and the sandpaper finding were settled years ago. The new debate is about what the players knew at the time, and that question rests on the accounts given by the people involved.