Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has made fresh revelations about the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal, claiming that Australia had used sandpaper on the ball during the second Test against South Africa in Gqeberha, then known as Port Elizabeth.
In his newly released autobiography, Sabr, Khawaja has described how South Africa struggled against Australia's reverse swing during the final session of the second day at St George's Park. He revealed that South Africa lost four wickets for just 28 runs after the Australian team allegedly altered the condition of the ball using sandpaper.
According to Khawaja, the incident took place before Australia were caught tampering with the ball during the third Test in Cape Town. He claimed that Cameron Bancroft had picked up the ball after the interval and worked on it with sandpaper before the Australian bowlers returned to the field.
Khawaja recalled that Australia had struggled to generate reverse swing earlier in the innings, while South Africa managed to achieve it in fewer than 25 overs.
He wrote that the Australian team had taken considerably longer to make the ball reverse swing and admitted that he had warned Bancroft about the large number of cameras monitoring the match.
Describing the dramatic session, Khawaja wrote that the ball had become extremely effective after being worked on with sandpaper.
He recalled that whenever the ball reached him at gully, he was surprised by how easily it was reversing. The Australian bowlers then took advantage of the altered condition, claiming four wickets for 28 runs.
Khawaja also revealed that one of the Australian bowlers reportedly commented during a team huddle that the ball was moving excessively and warned teammates not to do anything further to it.
The former batter, however, did not identify the bowlers involved. He also clarified that his intention was not to single out individual players, emphasising that the mistakes were made collectively and that the team had remained silent about the incident for years.
South Africa Still Won the Port Elizabeth Test
Despite Australia's impressive bowling spell, South Africa recovered strongly, thanks largely to a magnificent innings from AB de Villiers.
De Villiers scored an unbeaten 126 off 146 deliveries, an innings Khawaja described as one of the great knocks he had witnessed. He admitted that watching de Villiers bat was particularly impressive considering the amount of reverse swing Australia were generating.
Australia managed 239 runs in their second innings, leaving South Africa with a manageable target. The hosts eventually secured a six-wicket victory.
Interestingly, Khawaja also claimed that South Africa's bowlers generated significant reverse swing during Australia's second innings, beginning after approximately 21 overs. He admitted that the Australian players were unsure how South Africa were achieving it, despite having used sandpaper themselves.
Khawaja Was Not Interviewed During Cricket Australia's Investigation
The revelations also raise questions about the scope of Cricket Australia's investigation into the ball-tampering scandal.
The investigation primarily focused on the Cape Town Test, with its key findings identifying Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steven Smith as the three players with prior knowledge of the incident.
Khawaja revealed that he was never interviewed during the investigation.
In another section of his autobiography, he recalled being angry after an Australian bowler appeared on the television programme The Back Page and denied having any knowledge of the ball-tampering incident.
Khawaja said that David Warner was particularly upset by the denial and had sent him a video clip of the interview.
The former batter also revealed that he had considered speaking publicly about the incident before the fourth Test in Johannesburg, after the suspensions had already been announced.
He approached then-head coach Darren Lehmann near the hotel swimming pool and expressed his frustration, arguing that the entire team should take collective responsibility.
According to Khawaja, Lehmann listened to him but warned that making further public statements would not help the situation and could make matters worse.
Lehmann, who resigned before the Johannesburg Test, recently told ABC Grandstand that he did not recall Khawaja's earlier dressing-room plea for the team to accept collective responsibility. However, he was not questioned about the subsequent conversation described in the autobiography.
Khawaja Also Opens Up About the 2017-18 Ashes
Apart from the South Africa tour, Khawaja has also discussed Australia's use of reverse swing during the 2017-18 Ashes series.
He specifically referred to the Perth and Adelaide Tests, claiming that the Australian team had experimented with the ball's quarter seam to generate reverse swing.
Khawaja recalled Mitchell Starc's memorable delivery to James Vince on the fifth day of the Perth Test, explaining that Australia had been able to generate reverse swing during the closing stages of the match.
He also mentioned that achieving reverse swing with the pink ball in Adelaide was more challenging, but the team had discovered ways to make it happen by lifting the seam's flaps.
Khawaja emphasised that his use of the word 'we' reflected the collective responsibility of the team, regardless of which individual had actually altered the ball.
His revelations in Sabr have reopened one of the most controversial chapters in Australian cricket, offering a fresh account of events surrounding the 2018 ball-tampering scandal and raising further questions about what happened during the South Africa tour.
