Khawaja claims entire Australia team knew of sandpaper ball tampering in 2018

Summary

Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja claims that all staff and players knew the team was using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 tour of South Africa, including in the final Test of that series. The Guardian reports he also says the team used sandpaper on the ball during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, before Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera handling the object during the third Test. Khawaja made the claims ahead of the release of his autobiography Sabr on Tuesday. The Guardian reports he remains comfortable with the bans given only to Bancroft, Warner and Smith.

Timeline

1. ABC

   6 Nov 2026, 18:38 UTCSource ↗

   ABC reports that Usman Khawaja claims all staff and players knew the Australian team was using sandpaper to tamper with the ball during the 2018 tour of South Africa.

2. BBC

   6 Nov 2026, 23:11 UTCSource ↗

   BBC reports that Usman Khawaja claims the entire Australia team knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball in the final Test of their 2018 series with South Africa.

3. The Guardian

   6 Nov 2026, 23:35 UTCSource ↗

   The Guardian reports that Khawaja says all of the Australia touring party knew of the plot to tamper with the ball in Cape Town in 2018, that the team also used sandpaper during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, and that he remains comfortable with the bans given only to three players.

4. Al Jazeera

   7 Nov 2026, 05:46 UTCSource ↗

   Al Jazeera reports that Khawaja claims the entire Australia team knew about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, in which the team scuffed the ball with sandpaper in the March 2018 Test in Cape Town.