Former Australian opener David Warner has backed Usman Khawaja’s account of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, saying that thr batter is “100% accurate” in what he said.
Warner also called Cricket Australia’s investigation into the incident “rushed and botched.”
Australia used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. Captain Steve Smith and Warner received one-year bans, and Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
Khawaja said last week that the entire Australia team knew about the use of sandpaper. The bowlers have consistently denied they had any knowledge of the plan. He also said he felt shocked that investigators never asked him for evidence. “I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now,” he wrote in his autobiography.
Warner, who retired from international cricket in 2024, responded in a video statement on Instagram. “It’s been eight years since I spoke on this topic. And Ussie, I throw my full support behind you,” he said. “I thank you for what you’ve done. It’s 100% accurate what you’ve said. Now everyone knows the truth.”
Warner said that Khawaja wrote down every detail from that day. He criticised the investigation because Khawaja sat next to Bancroft but never faced questions. “How is that a thorough investigation? It baffles me,” he said.
He said that he did not want to point fingers or reopen old wounds. “It’s about accountability, transparency, ensuring that the truth is properly examined,” he said. “Perhaps it’s time people stop scrutinising the person asking for accountability and start asking those responsible for the investigation to provide it.”
Warner also said many people made inaccurate statements in the media over the last eight years, while others stayed silent.
Smith, Warner and Bancroft are all batters, and Cricket Australia never explained how bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon missed a change in the ball’s condition. The four released a joint statement in 2021 saying they “did not know a foreign substance was taken on to the field.” Cummins has captained the Test side since 2021, and all four remain regulars in the red-ball team.
Warner said that he waited to respond so he could explain the incident to his daughters. His 12-year-old daughter Ivy asked why people held her, why so many cameras were there and why everyone cried on TV. “One thing I did say is, ‘Girls, tell the truth, because lies will eventually get out,’” he said.
“It’s been a tough time for my family, Steven and Cameron, no doubt,” Warner said. “But this is what needed to come out. I fully support that, Ussie.”
