Pat Cummins: Australia captain describes Usman Khawaja’s ball tampering allegations as ‘nonsense’

Résumé détaillé

Australia captain Pat Cummins has launched a stunning rebuke of Usman Khawaja’s account of the sandpaper scandal, describing his former teammate’s story as “complete and utter…

Australia captain Pat Cummins has launched a stunning rebuke of Usman Khawaja’s account of the sandpaper scandal, describing his former teammate’s version of events as “complete and utter nonsense”.

On Friday morning, Cummins fronted the media to address Khawaja’s bombshell claims the entire side was aware of ball tampering on their infamous tour of South Africa in 2018.

Cummins said he supported Khawaja’s right to tell his story, but was firm in his conviction it was at odds with the truth.

“When he says ‘we all knew’, if by that he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he is 100 per cent wrong,” Cummins said.

“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 I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense.

“Usman and I are friends, but friends aren’t casual with each other’s lives or reputations. In his book, Uzzy has been casual with my life and the lives of many others, and, I think, Australian cricket.

“I don’t know what’s taken Usman so long . . . there’s been some allegations this week that you have to respond to.

“I know Uz, he’s not naive. He knew this was going to be a hot topic. To have statements such as ‘we all knew’ — well, we all knew about what? For me, that’s very casual.”

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