Langer backs Cummins after skipper hits out at Khawaja over Sandpaper-gate claims

Former Australia head coach Justin Langer has backed Pat Cummins after the Australian captain dismissed Usman Khawaja’s claims over the 2018 Sandpaper-gate scandal. Langer said Cummins was right to make his comments but urged Cricket Australia to put the controversy behind him, saying the renewed debate was damaging to players and supporters.

Cummins addressed the issue during a 69-minute press conference on Friday following Khawaja’s autobiography, Sabrbrought the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal back into the limelight. The Australian captain denied having any prior knowledge of the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the March 2018 Test.

He also strongly rejected Khawaja’s proposal that the entire Australian team knew about the incident and called it “complete and utter nonsense”.

Speaking on SEN radio while commentating on the opening ODI between Australia and England in Perth, Langer said Cummins was right to address the claims.

“I think he did what he had to do. They’re strong leaders; they stood up and obviously it’s turned into a crisis point again. There was a big crisis eight years ago and the way it’s reopened this week is a crisis in Australian cricket,” Langer said.

LANGER URGES AUSTRALIA TO KEEP GOING

Langer said the fallout from the scandal affected more than just the players involved. He called on Cricket Australia to draw a line at the episode and move forward.

“Too many people are getting hurt in Australian cricket, including the Australian public. It’s about the fans, it’s about the players, it’s about everyone involved, past players, current players, future players. We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere,” he said.

He admitted that it remains to be seen whether Cummins’ press conference will help resolve the matter.

“Too many people are hurt, Australian cricket is hurt, and time will tell whether the press conference will help or prevent that,” Langer added.

Australia’s white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh also made it clear on Thursday that he did not want to discuss the scandal again. Marsh said he had moved on and respected others’ decisions to share their accounts, but at this stage he had no plans to tell his own story.

“There’s been a lot of noise this week, and I respect that certain people have told their stories, but I’m not here today to share mine. My honest answer is that I’ve moved on. I respect that others probably haven’t, but I do. And I hope that’s respected. It’s my choice not to go back there. Who knows, maybe I’ll write a book one day,” Marsh said.

Langer backed Marsh’s stance and said the white-ball captain had also made his stance clear.

“And the captain stood up. Mitch Marsh stood up yesterday and hopefully that puts a line in the sand because we have to go for it,” he said.

WARNER CRITICIZES CUMMINS

Not everyone agreed with Cummins’ handling of the problem. Former Australian opener David Warner, who was among the players banned following the Cape Town scandal, criticized the Test captain for his comments about Khawaja.

Speaking of Fox Sports, Warner said he was very disappointed with Cummins and accused him of throwing his former teammate under the bus.

The ball-tampering scandal took place during the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018. Cricket Australia banned then-captain Steve Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their roles in the incident, with suspensions ranging from nine months to one year.

Khawaja’s autobiography has brought the episode back into public discussion and prompted fresh reactions from some of the biggest names in Australian cricket.

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