Marsh refuses to revisit sandpapergate; Cummins prepares to speak on Khawaja's 'allegations'

When the press conference was opened to questions, the first one was whether Marsh "knew sandpaper was being used to tamper with cricket balls in South Africa," to which he responded: "You've six off the first ball there, mate. Well done."

He went on to say: "There's obviously been a lot of noise around this week, and I respect that certain people have told their stories, but I'm not here to share mine today. I know that might sound weird, but it's a big week for us, and it's an important time for this one-day group, and my sole focus has been on preparing for tomorrow."

Marsh later added: "It was a really tough time for Australian cricket. I know there's still a lot of people hurting. But now is not the time for me to share my story.

"I respect him [Khawaja] for telling his story and for writing his book. I don't sit here coming from a place of judgement on any of that. Everyone's got their story. Some will be willing to share it, and others might not purely on the basis of the fact that they've moved on. I think it's really important that at some stage we do."

Marsh did confirm he had spoken to Khawaja ahead of the book's release.

Pressed on why, as an Australia captain, he was not willing to say more, Marsh said: "That's exactly it. I'm walking out tomorrow to captain my country in a really exciting series against England in a World Cup year, and my focus has been on that this week."

In a subsequent answer, he added: "My honest answer is because I've personally moved on. I respect that others probably haven't, but I have, and I hope that's respected."

Marsh was asked why he didn't sign the 2021 statement put out by the four frontline bowlers in response to Brancroft's interview. "I'm not here to speak on behalf of others," he said. "And as I've stated, I'm not really keen to go back into my recollections of any of the times throughout that period."

Marsh said he "understood" some fans would expect him to address the situation but "at the end of the day, I think this is my choice not to go back there. Who knows, maybe I'll write a book one day."

Cummins, meanwhile, said he had taken a few days to gather he thoughts on the "full extent" of what Khawaja has written before addressing it in public.

"I'm training at Cricket Central tomorrow morning before the Blues play in the Shield match," Cummins posted on social media. "Happy to speak with any and all media about the events of this week at 9.30am. I've taken some time to try and better understand the long list and full extent of Uzzy's allegations so I can respond properly."