Warner Backs Khawaja’s Ball-Tampering Claims, Says Truth Now Public

SYDNEY: Former Australian cricketer David Warner has broken his silence on the sandpaper ball-tampering scandal, days after Usman Khawaja wrote about it.

Warner released a video on his social media account addressing the ball-tampering allegations. Khawaja had earlier described the Cape Town Test ball-tampering scandal in his autobiography, Sabr.

Khawaja revealed that all members of the team were aware of the ball-tampering. Cricket Australia had punished David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith over the affair.

In the video, Warner expressed full support for Khawaja, saying that years had passed since the matter was discussed and that he stood fully behind him.

Warner said everything Khawaja had said was one hundred per cent accurate and that everyone now knew the truth. He said Khawaja had sat with Cameron Bancroft but was never interviewed, adding that the kind of investigation it was had surprised him.

The former Australian cricketer said they had not come to point fingers at anyone or reopen old wounds, but that this was about accountability and transparency, and ensuring the truth was tested properly and the facts brought to light.

Warner said that instead of criticising any one individual, those responsible for the investigation should be held to account. He said that over the past eight years the media had run many false stories, and that many people had remained silent.

He said that for the past few days he had been speaking with his daughters so that he could tell them what had really happened. He said it was a difficult time, but that this truth was bound to come out.