‘He must have known all about it’: Chris Broad takes aim at Darren Lehmann as Sandpapergate row erupts again

Darren Lehmann (Photo by Ryan Piers/Getty Images) Former England cricketer and match referee Chris Broad has hit out at former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann over the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, questioning how he could have been unaware of the incident and claiming he shied away from responsibility.Broad’s comments come amid fresh revelations by former Australian batsman Usman Khawaja, who claimed in his upcoming autobiography Sabr that the entire Australian team, including players and support staff, knew about the ball-tampering episode during the tour of South Africa.Broad took aim at Lehmann, who was Australia’s head coach at the time, questioning how he could remain ignorant of what was happening in the dressing room.“Darren Lehmann certainly knew about it,” Broad said on Track Radio, as quoted by Fox Sports. “And if he didn’t, he shouldn’t have been a coach at the time. I think he got off lightly… Well, he quit his job a few months later, but he didn’t get sanctioned.”

Broad recalls Lehmann’s attack on Stuart Broad

The former England player also drew on Lehmann’s criticism of his son, former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, during the 2013 Ashes series.Stuart refused to walk after bringing the van closer to the tickets, prompting Lehmann to publicly criticize him. The then Australian coach subsequently warned that his side would make the England pacer cry when they toured Australia.Contrasting Lehmann’s behavior during the 2018 scandal, Chris Broad questioned how the former coach could deny knowledge of the incident.“And here’s the coach of the Australian cricket team who brought sandpaper onto the field and denied knowing about it. I’m very angry with Darren Lehmann in that respect,” Broad said.

Khawaja’s revelations reopen the Sandpapergate debate

Controversy erupted during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018 when Cameron Bancroft was caught trying to change the condition of the ball with sandpaper. Afterwards, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner received one-year bans from competitive cricket, while Bancroft received a nine-month ban from international and domestic cricket.Khawaja argued that responsibility for the episode was collective and that Smith, Warner and Bancroft should not have been left to blame alone. He also questioned Cricket Australia’s investigation, claiming several members of the team were not interviewed despite allegedly being aware of the incident.In his autobiography, Khawaja further claimed that Australia used sandpaper during the second Test at Gqeberha before the episode unfolded in Cape Town. He also claimed attempts to tamper with the ball during the 2017-18 home Ashes series, claiming that the players raised the fourth seam to facilitate backswing. Australia won the third Test in Perth by an innings, a victory that helped them reclaim the Ashes.Broad’s criticism also received unexpected support from former Australian opener David Warner, who was one of the players handed a one-year ban following the Cape Town scandal.“I couldn’t agree more, and that’s hard to say!” Warner wrote on X in response to Broad’s comments.