'Utter nonsense': Cummins dismisses Khawaja claims

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Cummins on Friday spoke publicly for the first time since former long-time teammate Usman Khawaja claimed the entire team - not just Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith…

Australian captain Pat Cummins insists he had no knowledge sandpaper was being used during the infamous 2018 Test series in South Africa.

Cummins on Friday spoke publicly for the first time since former long-time teammate Usman Khawaja claimed the entire team - not just Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith - knew about the plan to tamper with the ball in the third Test in Cape Town.

"When he says we all knew, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out in the field, he's 100 per cent wrong," Cummins told reporters in Sydney.

"I've said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.

"But I think Usman actually says things that are actually far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper.

A candid Cummins said he was prepared to answer questions "all day," but never wanted to discuss the topic ever again, saying he was deeply disappointed by Khawaja's allegations.

"I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman admitted that he told Cam to be careful when using sandpaper," he said.

"That's not the Usman that I know. It's not the Usman that I think has been part of a team that's helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years.

"And the one that would have stopped that from happening there and then.

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