What Pat Cummins had to say about Usman Khawaja and the sandpaper scandal: Key points from the explosive press

Australia captain Pat Cummins strongly rejected Usman Khawaja’s claims (Image credit: Agencies) Australia captain Pat Cummins has strongly rejected Usman Khawaja’s claim that the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.Cummins addressed the allegations during a 68-minute press conference at Cricket Central in Sydney. He called Khawaja’s claims “100% false” and “complete and utter nonsense”.Khawaja claimed in his recently released autobiography that the entire Australian XI knew about the use of sandpaper in the Cape Town Test. He also claimed that the two players refused to take collective responsibility for the incident.Cummins responded to several allegations, talking about the 2018 investigation, his relationship with Khawaja, the punishments given to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft and his current relationship with Smith.

Key points from Pat Cummins’ press conference

Did the entire Australian team know about the sandpaper?Cummins strongly denied Khawaja’s claim that all 11 players knew that sandpaper was used to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Cape Town Test.“When he says we all knew, if he means we knew there was sandpaper on the field, he’s 100 percent wrong,” Cummins said. “I’ve been saying this consistently for the last eight years, I didn’t know it was happening.“But I think Usman is actually saying things that are actually much more serious.“He says that I and others were the architects of the scheme for the ball to manipulate the sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense. I was really shocked this week when Usman admitted that Cam (Bancroft) told him to be careful with the sandpaper.“That’s not the Usman I know. That’s not the Usman I think of or who was part of the team that helped rebuild this Australian cricket culture over the last eight years, and you know the Usman who would have stopped that from happening then and there. Usman is a friend, but friends are not indifferent to each other’s lives and reputations.”“In his book Ussie casually dealt with my life and the lives of many others and I think Australian cricket.“I 100% support his right to tell his story. I’m really glad he feels he can, but we have to be responsible for the things we say and do.” Was there a master plan for handling the ball?Cummins admitted the Australian team had a win-at-all-costs mentality in 2018. He also talked about the “ugly underbelly” and too many groups in the team. However, he rejected the suggestion that there was a plan to try to use illegal methods to turn the ball over.“There was no master plan around the use of illegal methods,” Cummins said. “I think that’s maybe something that hasn’t been talked about enough. People assume that you went from very legal methods (to force the ball to turn over) to suddenly taking away the sandpaper and there must have been some huge master plan.“True, it’s not like that.“That’s one of the reasons I really want to discuss (it) is because there’s context and details around it. There’s no grand plan. There’s no team meeting. No pitcher is saying this has to happen. I think there are natural progressions that get you there.”Did Cummins know about the use of sandpaper before the Port Elizabeth test?Khawaja also claimed that sandpaper was used on the ball near the boundary before the start of the session during the Port Elizabeth Test, now known as Gqeberha. That match took place before the Cape Town Test.Cummins said this was new information to him and that he was surprised by the claim.“That was news to me this week,” Cummins said. “I had no idea. Even chatting with a couple of guys, that was a revelation for us. That was one of the things that really surprised me because it doesn’t happen anymore.”“The umpires give you the ball in the middle, so I don’t remember that. I remember growing up watching for the umpire to drop the ball, but I don’t really remember that. I don’t know where it stopped. So it was a revelation for me this week.”Has Cummins ever seen ball tampering in his career?Cummins said the only time he had seen someone use an illegal object to change the condition of the ball was early in his career in a Sheffield Shield match.He remembered a senior New South Wales batsman who had a bottle cap on his ball. However, he refused to reveal the name of the player or the match.“He was a batsman,” Cummins said. “He was an older player, I’m not going to mention him, but he took the cap off a bottle on the field and that was the only thing I saw on the field. I was looking at it, ‘Wow, that’s not right.’ It was resolved. Even the referees knew it. They called him and said, ‘You have to stop this right now.’ He was dealt with. That’s the only time I’ve seen anything illegal out there.”Did the two players refuse to take collective responsibility?Khawaja claimed that he asked the Australian team to take collective responsibility for the ball-tampering incident in Cape Town. He also claimed that two players refused to support his proposal.Cummins said he doesn’t recall any such discussion or team meeting.“First of all, I don’t recall any conversation about collective responsibility,” Cummins said. “I don’t remember any team meeting where he stood up and said, ‘Let’s all own this as a team.’ So to go on, no, I have no idea who those two people are because I don’t remember anyone ever asking me or talking about it.“I’ve talked to a lot of other people, and (they’re) all the same. When we’re trying to put this together, nobody can remember a team meeting where somebody stood up and said, ‘We’ve got to own this,'” he said.Was Cummins interviewed during the original investigation?Cummins confirmed he had been questioned as part of Cricket Australia’s investigation into the Cape Town incident.The investigation was led by Cricket Australia’s then head of integrity Iain Roy and high performance manager Pat Howard.Cummins said the pitchers were among those specifically asked to attend. He added that other players also got the opportunity to share information.“I was asked to be a part of this review,” Cummins said. “There were some people who were specifically asked. I think it was the pitchers, and I don’t really remember who else. And then I specifically remember a couple of times (they) said, ‘If anybody else has another account or anybody else has information that they’d like to share, please come and do it.’ I did my interview. I was completely truthful. Since then I have been very consistent at that event until now. Nothing has changed.”Why wasn’t Khawaja interviewed during the investigation?Khawaja claimed in his book that he was not questioned during the original investigation despite sitting next to Bancroft in the dressing room in Cape Town.Cummins said he had spoken to Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg ahead of the press conference to confirm his recollection of the investigation.“I actually even talked to Todd today,” Cummins said. “He was saying, ‘I read all the investigations. The guys were very, very consistent the whole time.’Should Cricket Australia reopen the investigation?Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said earlier in the week that the governing body would not reopen the investigation.Asked whether the inquiry should be conducted again, Cummins said the decision rested with Cricket Australia.“That depends on CA,” Cummins said. “Part of why I think it’s still going on after eight years is there’s a lot of context around it that’s hard to explain and hard to articulate, and that’s what I want to do today. But there’s a very right way to do things and a wrong (way), and I think the inquest was the right way to do it. They were all asked in the circumstances, with a game that could very quickly be assumed to be judgmental. fair, but what can you do, I got all the questions and answered them fairly.”Has Cummins spoken to Khawaja? Will he take legal action?Cummins confirmed he spoke to Khawaja during the week but did not reveal what they discussed.He admitted that he was still trying to understand how the allegations would affect their longtime friendship.Cummins also said he had been told some of Khawaja’s claims were “probably defamatory”. However, he ruled out legal action.“You have to move on,” he said. “It’s been eight years… You have to draw the line at some point. I won’t.”Why does Cummins feel that Khawaja’s claims are irresponsible?Cummins spoke about his long friendship with Khawaja, who has been a part of his cricketing journey for 15 years.But he said the allegations were serious because they affected the lives and reputations of several people and their families.“I played for 15 years, my debut for New South Wales and with Australia, Usman was right there, he’s been amazing to me and he’s a friend,” Cummins said. “But these are real people’s lives, and it’s serious. I saw (my wife) Becky on the news yesterday. It’s not just about people, it’s about their families, and I’m one of the smaller ones. Maybe I’m right there this week. But to talk eight years ago like it was traumatic for those guys, for all of us, for Australian cricket, for the fans. I think, yes, I think so responsibly and casually.” those are all things I’m dealing with right now.”Were the sentences given to Smith, Warner and Bancroft too harsh?Cummins clarified his stance on the punishments handed out to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft following the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.He believed the bans given to the three players were too severe.Cummins also said he had not spoken to Warner or Bancroft since Khawaja’s book was published. However, he said he had no problems with Bancroft, despite his 2021 interview with The Guardian in which he claimed it was “obvious” that the bowling group knew about the sandpaper.Cummins said the sentences were “too harsh” and “grossly excessive”.How is Cummins’ relationship with Steve Smith now?Cummins confirmed that he had spoken to Smith several times since the recent controversy.Smith withdrew from the third Test in South Africa with a neck injury. There were also signs of frustration in the Australian camp following his withdrawal.Cummins said their relationship is in a good place and that they are on the same page.“I’ve talked to Steve a few times since then,” Cummins said. “He’s good. He says his neck is feeling better. I think he’ll get to Australia very soon and I think he should play a Shield match soon.”“We’re in a really good place. I think there were some unfair comments around Steve last week. Maybe I could have done a better job of trying to tone it down a bit. I think it probably misconstrued the level of disappointment in such a big game that we were missing one of our great players. But no, we’re very balanced, we’re going to move forward. We’re very excited for the next two months. We’re very excited.” I need him as captain next to me as vice-captain, so everything is in line.”