Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins was spotted in what appeared to be a tense conversation with his wife, Becky, on a Sydney street, marking his first public sighting since fresh claims emerged about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Footage published by The Australian on Wednesday shows Cummins and Becky engaged in an animated discussion before entering a nearby property. Cummins, dressed casually in a T-shirt and shorts, remained mostly quiet during the exchange.
The incident coincides with renewed focus on the so-called Sandpaper-gate controversy after former Australian batter Usman Khawaja made new claims about the scandal. Khawaja, in his recently released autobiography Sabr, said the entire Australian dressing room was aware of the plan to tamper with the ball during the 2018 Test series in South Africa. These claims have been supported by former opener David Warner, who was also involved in the scandal.
Cummins has been resting from Australia’s ongoing white-ball series against England as he prepares for four upcoming Test matches against New Zealand. When asked about Khawaja’s revelations, Cummins said earlier this week: “It’s obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times.”
He added: “It was dealt with then, all I can say is as a group we’ve moved on. Very happy with the last eight or nine years, how we’ve been as a group and evolved. He didn’t go into too much detail . . . As always it was ‘no worries, you can tell your story, that’s fine’.”
Khawaja’s new account has stirred controversy by suggesting that the ball-tampering was not limited to the three men who were officially sanctioned, Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft, but that the entire team was aware of the plan. Cricket Australia suspended those three players at the time, and the scandal severely affected Australian cricket’s reputation.
Following the release of his book, Khawaja faced intense questioning on the ABC’s 7.30 program, where he refused to provide further details on the matter. When asked if he was upset that the bowlers had not admitted to knowing about the plan to rough up the ball with sandpaper, Khawaja said: “I’ll say again, I’ve given my statement about what happened the game before.”
He continued: “I was very open and honest to what I saw and what conversations I had. Sometimes I’m very specific on things, and sometimes I’m a bit vague on things, and I do it on purpose because I’m trying to tell a story.”
Pressed further about the bowlers’ involvement, Khawaja declined to comment, saying: “I’m just not going … I’m not going to entertain that. I’m not going to really speak on any more of it at this moment.”
The new claims have reignited debates around the scandal and the extent of player knowledge and involvement beyond the three suspended players. Cummins’ guarded response and his subdued public appearance with his wife come amid this backdrop of renewed scrutiny and media attention.
Cummins remains focused on his upcoming Test matches, with no further comment on the issue since his earlier statement. The Australian team is yet to issue an official response to Khawaja’s recent claims.
According to Yahoo Sports.
