Khawaja Says Whole Team Knew of 2018 Ball-Tampering; Lehmann Questions Claims

SYDNEY: Former Australia opener Usman Khawaja has claimed that the entire Australian team was aware of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, while former head coach Darren Lehmann has questioned the revelations.

According to Khawaja, the matter was not confined to batters or bowlers alone, as players and support staff were all involved. He said responsibility lies with everyone. He made these remarks in interviews ahead of the publication of his forthcoming autobiography, Patience.

So far, Cricket Australia’s investigation had held only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft responsible. Smith and Warner were each banned for one year, and Bancroft for nine months.

Khawaja said he had hoped that over eight years another player would tell the truth, but this had not happened. He said he had sat next to Bancroft in the Test, yet the investigation never spoke to him, and he kept waiting for a call.

Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon had made clear in a joint statement in 2021 that they knew nothing about the matter.

Speaking to ABC’s Grandstand, Lehmann said it would be better if some matters were not said in the interests of the game and the people involved. He described books as a means of making money, and said Khawaja had not contacted him.

Lehmann said he did not recall Khawaja raising collective responsibility at the time, as there were two dressing rooms in Cape Town and meetings were being held everywhere. He said he did not think everyone had known, and that it was up to Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood and Lyon to decide whether to speak to Khawaja.