Sandpapergate storm puts Starc in spotlight; Wife Healy reveals her stance

Alyssa Healy (Photo/Getty Images)

The infamous Sandpapergate scandal has returned to haunt Australian cricket, with fresh claims from former batter Usman Khawaja reigniting debate over the 2018 ball-tampering controversy.

This time, the spotlight has fallen on Mitchell Starc, with his wife and former Australia women's captain Alyssa Healy admitting that she feels "slightly conflicted" about the renewed allegations.Khawaja, in his newly released autobiography Sabr, made explosive revelations about the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa, claiming that the entire Australian Test team was aware of the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball.

He also alleged that ball-tampering was not restricted to the infamous third Test, with the practice reportedly taking place during the second Test of the series as well.

Starc, however, has firmly rejected Khawaja's claims, maintaining that he stands by the joint statement released in 2021 alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. The four Australian fast bowlers had denied knowing about the sandpaper being taken onto the field and the ball being tampered with during the Cape Town Test.

Alyssa Healy reacts to fresh Sandpapergate allegations involving Mitchell Starc

Speaking at Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket's launch event, Healy admitted that the situation was difficult for her to comment on, given her personal connection to the controversy."It's a hard one to comment on. At the moment, I feel slightly conflicted, and I'm in the middle of it. It's hard to make a comment on it, we'll see where it goes and if CA do take it forward or how it rolls throughout the media, and I'll make a comment from there.

For now, I'm just gonna sit and wait and watch it unfold," Healy said.Her comments come after Starc publicly pushed back against Khawaja's version of events, insisting that his position on the controversy remains unchanged.

What is the Sandpapergate controversy?

The Sandpapergate scandal dates back to the third Test between Australia and South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town, in March 2018. During the match, television cameras captured Cameron Bancroft using a piece of sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.The incident triggered one of the biggest controversies in Australian cricket history. Bancroft was handed a nine-month suspension, while then-captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner received 12-month bans from international and domestic cricket. Smith was also removed from the captaincy, while Warner was banned from holding a leadership position in Australian cricket.Khawaja's latest revelations have brought the episode back into the spotlight, with questions being raised about how widespread the knowledge of the ball-tampering operation was within the Australian dressing room.However, Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has indicated that the governing body has little interest in reopening the matter more than eight years after the incident. Healy backed that approach, suggesting that Australian cricket should focus on moving forward rather than revisiting a controversy that had already left a lasting impact on those involved.

"I watched it eight years ago too. I think the game of cricket as a whole has moved on.

(Cricket Australia CEO) Todd Greenberg's statement today about not looking into it any further is a great sign of where we're headed and that's moving forward and looking ahead to this summer," she said.

Healy urges empathy for those involved in Sandpapergate

She said the individuals mentioned in Khawaja's book were being forced to revisit difficult memories and urged people to consider the emotional toll of the renewed scrutiny."I feel for everyone involved. I know a human element in it as well that people are being dragged back through some things and reliving some memories. I think from a human side of things we've got to remember that and put our arms around the people that are being mentioned," she added.