Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has reacted strongly to Usman Khawaja’s shocking claims about the infamous 2018 Sandpapergate scandal. Darren Lehmann has admitted that ball tampering was common in international cricket for many years but has strongly rejected Usman’s claims that everyone in the Australia national cricket team knew about the sandpaper plan.
The 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering controversy has returned to the spotlight after Khawaja made fresh revelations in his book, Sabr. His claims have once again brought back memories of one of the darkest chapters in Australian cricket, with Lehmann slamming the former batter’s allegations.
Read Also: Evil motive behind Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate revelations?
Darren Lehmann was Australia's head coach when the Sandpapergate scandal in Cape Town took place in 2018. During the Test match against South Africa, Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.
Following the incident, then Australian captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Bancroft were handed heavy suspensions, while Lehmann stepped down from being the head coach.
Ahead of the release of his book Sabr, Usman Khawaja told Nine newspapers that Australia had used sandpaper to tamper with the ball even before the 2018 Cape Town Test. He also claimed that everyone in the Australian team knew about the plan.
Khawaja said, "Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.”
Darren Lehmann rejects Usman Khawaja's explosive Sandpaper allegations
Now, in an interview with ABC Sport's Summer Grandstand, Darren Lehmann denied knowing about the use of sandpaper and said he did not believe every member of the Australian team was aware of the plan in the Cape Town Test.
However, the former Australian head coach admitted that ball tampering had been happening in international cricket for around 150 years and was once a common part of the game across the world. He also accepted that such practices were wrong and said Australia paid a very heavy price for the Cape Town incident. He believes ball tampering is now almost completely out of the game.
Lehmann said, as quoted by ABC Sport's Summer Grandstand, "I don't think everyone would have known [about the use of sandpaper]." You do know ball tampering is going on because it's been happening for 150 years. It's just how it's being done, and how would you know to that extent?
That's an individual case by case, to be fair. I can only speak to what I know, and I know ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket. Now it is obsolete. That doesn't make it right either, but that's the case, and we paid a heavy price for that.”
Read Also: Usman Khawaja accuses South Africa of being experts at ball-tampering.
Khawaja revealed that after Bancroft was caught, he had suggested that the entire playing group should accept collective responsibility for what had happened. However, Lehmann said he could not confirm whether such a discussion took place.
He explained that the Australian team had two separate dressing rooms and several meetings were happening at the same time. He was also busy attending meetings with Cricket Australia during that period. Lehmann also denied having any knowledge of an alleged conversation between Bancroft and a member of the coaching staff.
The former coach said, “That could have been the case; I don't know. I'm not saying yes or no to that one. There will be different points of view everywhere on this whole matter.”
Usman Khawaja spoke to Pat Cummins but ignored me: Darren Lehmann
Darren Lehmann also revealed that Khawaja had not contacted him before making these fresh allegations public. He shared that Khawaja had reportedly spoken to Pat Cummins and other players before sharing his claims.
Lehmann signed off by saying, “For me it's a really touchy one mentally, more than anything else, and I know the boys will be feeling that as well. Could he have said this at the time? I suppose that's one of the things in the book. I mean, books are there to sell. He's spoken to Pat Cummins apparently and the players. I haven't spoken to Usman; he hasn't texted me or rung me. That's just the way it is.”
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