‘People have different views’: Cricket Australia refuses to re-open sandpaper scandal investigation

Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out re-opening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga, saying members of the Australian team at that time will never agree on how the ball-tampering plot was hatched and carried out.

Greenberg told radio station SEN he had spoken to a number of players since Usman Khawaja’s claims about the events of Cape Town surfaced at the weekend in anticipation of his book, Sabr, being released on Tuesday.

He said he respected Khawaja and his right to tell his side of the story candidly, but there were other players in that team whose versions of events differed markedly, and a new inquiry was unlikely to change that.

“People have very different views of what happened, and recollections of what happened,” Greenberg said.

“I read his comments over the weekend in the media at exactly the same time as the public, and I’ll, obviously, get to read his book at some point. But there are specific details in his book that contradict the versions that have been provided by others, and I want to be really careful to consider what Usman’s actually said and not respond to the headlines or the substantive commentary that gets created.

“It’s important to attribute his words and not the headlines, and it’s important to know that back at that time, players were urged to come forward, and they had the opportunity to do so over these past eight years, and that remains the case. So I think that’s that’s really important.

“But we have said we’re comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we’ve received. That includes what we’ve seen from Usman, and our position hasn’t changed on that. We don’t see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again, I don’t think there’s anything that can be gained from that.”

Greenberg, a former CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, has intricate knowledge of the details behind the bans handed to Australian captain Steve Smith and opening batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their roles in the ball-tampering at Cape Town.

Khawaja’s book details how the Australian team started using sandpaper in Port Elizabeth – now Gqeberha – in the Test before Bancroft was caught on camera in Cape Town, and he states it was common knowledge within the team.

He again took to social media on Tuesday, this time declaring he had hidden his version of events in Cape Town, even from his manager and publisher Penguin until six months ago.

“People have been trying to move and shift the narrative from the truth to attacking me and my intentions, so, cool, less chat about it. Lots of people are saying that I used ‘sandpaper’ for my book sales … that is 100 per cent false,” he said.

“I did not negotiate a thing with Penguin when it came to ‘sandpaper’ or any other topics in my life – we didn’t even talk about it. Here are the facts – I signed with them in 2023 and all they said to me was: ‘Tell your story’, and that I had total control of everything that went in and everything that went out. It was all on me.

“So, just over two years later, I handed them my final draft. This was the first time I had shown them any of my book. Penguin was shocked. My manager was shocked because I kept this from them. Neither of them knew anything about this [sandpaper saga].”

Australia’s four bowlers in South Africa in 2018 – including Cummins – issued joint statements in 2021 denying knowledge of the use of sandpaper in Cape Town but are yet to comment on Khawaja’s claims.

Greenberg, who had spoken with Khawaja about his book before it was released, said the bowlers, all still playing, remained steadfast in their belief they were unaware of any plans to tamper with the ball.

“There’s no doubt that you’ll hear from Pat, and you’ll hear from other players over the coming days or weeks. And as I said, I know people are calling for the truth, but in reference to the bowlers, I think one thing that is clear is they’ve been very consistent from the original investigation back in 2018, in the days that immediately followed this Test match, again in their public statements in 2021, and again in many of my conversations with them over the weekend, their position has remained consistent and hasn’t changed,” Greenberg said.

Warner broke his silence on Monday as his long-time manager, James Erskine, claimed CA did not want to discover the full story at the time of the scandal.

Former fast bowler Chadd Sayers, who was also part of that tour, has also backed Khawaja’s claims. But Greenberg said on Tuesday he would not reopen an investigation that in 2018 was led by then CA chief James Sutherland and former head of integrity Iain Roy.

The investigation in 2018 was restricted to what happened in Cape Town, and had to be completed quickly as Australia had another Test to play days later in Johannesburg.

What continues to baffle Khawaja is why he was not interviewed by Roy, despite sitting next to Bancroft in the dressing room through the Cape Town Test.

“Well, again, there are degrees of what people knew, and that’s been covered over time. But I can only take every individual on their word, and I have to respect each person’s version of their events,” Greenberg said.

“And this investigation was completed eight years ago, and some people will be critical of that investigation, and there’s no doubt it was done quickly. The primary reason it needed to be done quickly because there was another Test match to be played in a very short space of time, and so you know, in addition to that, the pressure applied across the game, at that particular moment in time, wasn’t insignificant.

“So, those are all very difficult moments when you’re in the eye of the storm and, as I said before, trying to second-guess decisions from that time, or trying to make an assessment through hindsight, I think is an impossible task.

“Ultimately, the decisions, the deliberations, the sanctions of the past, I don’t think can be fairly judged by the events of today. And as I said, I think trying to solve that is an impossible outcome. So, you know, despite the challenges of that, lots of people were interviewed. Not everyone was interviewed.

“I’ve been privy to the transcripts and interviews over that period of time, and you know, as I said before, everyone was encouraged at that time to come forward, and they’ve been welcome to do so ever since, and continue to be.”

But Michael Clarke said his predecessor as Test captain, Smith, would likely still have the job if not for the fallout of 2018, and the matter deserved to be re-examined.

“We haven’t moved on. Australian fans have not moved on. They can’t trust what’s real. They don’t know the truth. Until this gets reopened and the truth comes out,” Clarke said.

“We had the chance in 2018. The truth didn’t come out. We had the chance in 2021.

“Now we’ve got this opportunity. I would just like to see whatever the truth is for it all to come out, allow people to finally tell the truth, and move on.

“I can’t believe we haven’t heard from Pat Cummins yet, the Australian captain.

“Steve Smith lost his job. If this doesn’t happen, Tim Paine never captains Australia. And neither does Pat Cummins.

“Pat Cummins would not have captained a game at this stage if Sandpapergate didn’t happen because Steve Smith would still be captain.”

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