David Warner has accused Cricket Australia of avoiding interviews with key bowlers during the 2018 ball-tampering investigation, suggesting the governing body ran a “shoddy investigation” to protect certain players.
Warner made the allegation in an Instagram post on Saturday, claiming that Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon were not questioned by Cricket Australia (CA) in the aftermath of the Cape Town Test when the scandal erupted.
“As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation,” Warner wrote. “If that’s correct, then how can CA push the idea that the bowlers didn’t know? It looks like they had decided who they wanted to blame from the very beginning ran a shoddy investigation to serve the purpose and now they want to maintain the false narrative that the bowlers had no idea. That stinks of a cover up.”
The ball-tampering scandal resurfaced recently after Usman Khawaja released his memoir, Sabr, which alleged that the entire Australian team was aware of the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during that Test match. Khawaja’s claims prompted a response from current Australia captain Pat Cummins, who dismissed the allegations as “complete and utter nonsense” during a press conference on Friday.
Warner’s post came a day after he criticized Cummins for “throwing Usman Khawaja under the bus” in relation to the memoir’s claims. Warner’s comments on Instagram questioned the integrity of Cricket Australia’s original probe, which resulted in one-year bans for Warner and then-captain Steve Smith, and a nine-month suspension for Cameron Bancroft, who was caught applying sandpaper to the ball.
Cricket Australia has previously stated it has no plans to reopen the investigation despite Khawaja’s recent assertions.
Cummins addressed the controversy ahead of Australia’s opening ODI against England, firmly rejecting Khawaja’s version of events. Warner’s comments followed shortly after, continuing to challenge the official narrative on how the investigation was conducted and who was held accountable.
The controversy adds to a long-running debate over the 2018 incident, which damaged the reputation of Australian cricket and led to significant sanctions against the players directly involved. Warner’s new allegations raise questions about whether the investigation fully explored the role of other team members, particularly the frontline bowlers.
At this stage, Cricket Australia has not publicly responded to Warner’s claim that Hazlewood, Starc, and Lyon were not interviewed as part of the 2018 inquiry.
According to Yahoo Sports.
