"I Was Left With A Blank Wall": Ethics Chief Dr Simon Longstaff Revisits Sandpapergate Investigation

A photo from the infamous Cape Town Test.© X (Formerly Twitter)

Dr Simon Longstaff, the ethics expert commissioned by Cricket Australia (CA) to review the culture of the Australian men's team in the aftermath of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, has revealed that his offer to allow players to share their full version of events was met with silence, leaving him "with a blank wall". The controversy has resurfaced following the release of Usman Khawaja's autobiography Sabr, which contains explosive claims that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering incident during the Cape Town Test in 2018. Khawaja also alleged that sandpaper had been used during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha. Australia's Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has rejected those allegations, describing them as "complete and utter nonsense", while David Warner has continued to support Khawaja's account and criticised Cricket Australia's handling of the matter.

Speaking to Nine's Weekend Today on Saturday, Longstaff, who famously labelled Cricket Australia as "arrogant" during his cultural review, said he gave players and officials opportunities to disclose any additional information but received no revised accounts.

Longstaff said he began hearing "whispers" shortly after the scandal broke that more people may have known about the ball-tampering than the three players who were sanctioned and that the practice may have predated the Cape Town Test.

"We're talking effectively about good people who made bad decisions, so that's where we looked," he said, as quoted by Nine.com.au.

"Along the way, there were whispers, and I can't put it any more strongly than that, that something else had gone on earlier and that more people had known."

"When we came to look into that, because I couldn't turn a blind eye to it once the suggestion was made, I afforded the senior people I spoke with an opportunity to say whether there was something else they wanted to add about the whole circumstance."

"Nobody chose to make any alteration to their statement, so I was left with basically a blank wall. Some people were saying one thing, others another, but there was not sufficient evidence to conclude that a further inquiry was required at that time," he added.

In Sabr, Khawaja wrote that he expected to be interviewed as part of Cricket Australia's investigation but was never contacted.

"I was waiting for my phone to ring. It just never rang, and then the penalties were given, and I couldn't believe it," Khawaja wrote.

The former opener also claimed he was willing to share what he believed was the full truth about the incident had he been interviewed.

Responding to those claims, Longstaff said a wide range of stakeholders had been invited to participate in the review, although he could not recall specifically whether Khawaja had been offered the opportunity.

"I can't remember exactly who was given the opportunity to contribute to our review, which went much further than just the players involved," Longstaff said.

"It looked at the whole of Cricket Australia, sponsors, supporters and former Test players to provide context and comparison. Not everybody we invited chose to participate. They had the liberty not to."

"Anything they said was provided under strict conditions of confidentiality, which we continue to respect today," he added.

Longstaff also commented on Cummins' forceful rejection of Khawaja's claims, saying the Australian captain appeared sincere.

"His press conference was absolutely convincing in its sincerity," Longstaff said.

"That stands against Usman Khawaja's claim that everybody knew, so there is a clear contradiction."

"If Cummins did not know, and I believe he didn't, then not everybody knew. But that leaves another question."

"Was it the case that many more people knew, even if not everyone? Is Khawaja sincere in his belief that a considerably larger number of people were aware? We simply don't know."

Longstaff noted that the bowling group has consistently denied knowledge of any ball-tampering plans, creating a direct conflict with the accounts now being put forward by Khawaja and Warner.

"There's been consistent denial from the bowling group as a whole, and that stands in contrast to what Usman Khawaja and David Warner are asserting."

"When you find this kind of conflict of opinion, there is usually a reason behind it. The question is whether Cricket Australia wants to establish what that reason is," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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