Friday 13 November 2026Cricket Australia’s chief executive has said he sees no compelling reason to reopen the investigation.
Featured image: Photo by Halfang (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons. Illustrative image of the Sydney Cricket Ground at night.
Key facts
- Pat Cummins held a media conference on Friday 13 November to respond to claims in Usman Khawaja’s memoir.
- The memoir claims that many people involved in the 2018 Cape Town Test knew about the ball tampering.
- The ABC reported Mr Cummins rejected the claims, saying he had consistently denied knowledge for eight years.
- Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said earlier in the week he saw no compelling reason to reopen the investigation.
- Nationals leader Matt Canavan had called for Cricket Australia to reopen it.
Mr Cummins responds
Australian Test captain Pat Cummins held a media conference on Friday to respond to claims in Usman Khawaja’s memoir about the 2018 Cape Town Test, the match at the centre of the ball-tampering controversy. The memoir claims that people involved in the match knew about the tampering. Mr Cummins rejected the claims, the ABC reported, saying he had consistently denied any knowledge for eight years, and that he had not read the book in full.
Cricket Australia’s position
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said earlier in the week that he saw no compelling reason to reopen the investigation, SBS News reported. Nationals leader Matt Canavan said on Wednesday that Cricket Australia should reopen it.
Background
The incident, known as Sandpapergate, led to penalties for Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner during the 2018 Test series in South Africa. Khawaja’s memoir was released this week.
What happens next
The ABC reported that Steve Smith is expected back in Australia and is due to play Sheffield Shield cricket before the first Test against New Zealand on 9 December. The sources reviewed do not report any decision to reopen the investigation.
More from this day: News Today: 13 November 2026, Australia and World Headlines
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