Starc Denies Knowing of Sandpaper Plan as CA Rules Out Inquiry
Cricket Australia will not reopen its inquiry into the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering affair. The decision came as Mitchell Starc rejected the claims in Usman Khawaja's new book.
No new inquiry from Cricket Australia
Chief executive Todd Greenberg told SEN radio on Tuesday that there was no “compelling reason” to revisit the case. He accepted that Khawaja's book contains specific details that contradict versions given by others.
His objection is practical. A fresh investigation would land at the same point, one person's version against another's, and he is not sure what outcome people are searching for. He said people want a single result everyone agrees on, but he does not think that is possible given how far the accounts of that moment differ.
Greenberg took the job last year. In 2021 he ran the Australian Cricketers' Association, when Bancroft told the Guardian he had lost control of his values. That interview prompted Pat Cummins and the other bowlers in Cape Town to say they knew nothing of the tampering.
Starc keeps to the 2021 line
Starc is the first of the bowling group from the Newlands Test to respond since the book came out on Tuesday. He says he did not know sandpaper was used in the previous Test, or during the Newlands match.
His recollection matches a statement the bowlers issued in 2021, which denied any knowledge of the plan. They saw the sandpaper on the big screen, he said: “We saw [the sandpaper] on the big screen in Cape Town.”
He has not read the book and probably will not, so it is for Khawaja to elaborate. Starc acknowledged that different people tell different versions and said he would leave his where he left it back then.
The claims and the bans
The original punishment fell on three men: then captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and batter Cameron Bancroft. All received long bans after a short Cricket Australia investigation. Warner spoke on Monday and described that process as rushed and botched.
Khawaja alleges that more than those three knew about the plan, and that this includes the use of sandpaper in the Test before Cape Town. He also says he asked the players to accept responsibility together at the time and was rebuffed.
Khawaja answers the money question
Khawaja rejected suggestions that he is using the affair to sell books. On Instagram he said he does not need the money and that it was never about commercial gain.
His publisher, Penguin Random House, and his manager did not know he planned to shed new light on 2018 when he signed the deal in 2023, he said. Royalties only start after a large number of sales, and he does not expect to reach that point.
Source: the Guardian