Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening the investigation into the 2018 Sandpaper-Gate scandal despite fresh revelations in Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr. Greenberg said the board remains satisfied with the original findings and sees no compelling reason to reinvestigate.
The controversy resurfaced after Khawaja claimed that the entire Australian team knew about the ball-tampering plan during Australia's tour of South Africa. David Warner backed his former teammate's account and questioned the inquiry, while several players have continued to dispute Khawaja's claims.
Speaking to SEN radio, Todd Greenberg said Cricket Australia had no plans to revisit the investigation conducted after the 2018 Cape Town Test. He also revealed that Usman Khawaja had informed him about the autobiography several months before its release.
"I haven't read the book yet. Clearly it is out, but I'll hopefully get an opportunity to do it, but Usman was good enough to let me know some months ago that he would be releasing a book, and I really appreciated that call," Greenberg told SEN.
"First and foremost, I have huge respect for Usman to give his version of events," he added. "I read his comments over the weekend in the media, exactly the same time as the public and I'll obviously get to read his book at some point.
"But there are specific details in his book that contradict the versions that have been provided by others. And I want to be really careful to consider what Usman's actually said, and not respond to the headlines or the subsequent commentary that gets created."
"We have said we're comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we've received. That includes what we've seen from Usman, and our position hasn't changed on that," he said.
"We don't see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again. I don't think there's anything that can be gained from that."
'A Very Different Version of Events' - Usman Khawaja's Claims Clash With Australia's Bowlers' Earlier Statements
In Sabr, Usman Khawaja alleged that Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were not the only members of the Australia touring party aware of the ball-tampering plan. He also claimed that the team had used sandpaper during the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.
Khawaja further revealed that Cricket Australia never interviewed him during the inquiry, despite him sitting next to Bancroft throughout the Cape Town Test. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon denied knowing about the plan in a joint statement issued in 2021.
Todd Greenberg said several players had maintained a different version of events since 2018 and that he had spoken to some of them over the weekend. He added that players had been given the opportunity to share their accounts during the original inquiry.
"I can assure you, there are lots of other players who have a very, very different version of events, and they've made that very public from the very start in 2018," Greenberg said.
"They've been very consistent in their position right through until today, and you know my conversations with many of them over the weekend, I don't think that will change either. So I think we end up at the same intersection point, which is eight years ago people have a version of events which differ from each other. And I completely get it, no one would like to get this chapter of Australian cricket closed more than me, but it is unlikely."
"It's important to attribute his words and not the headlines. It's important to know that back at that time, players were urged to come forward, and they had the opportunity to do so over these past eight years, and that remains the case."
'You'll Hear From Pat' - Australia Captain Cummins and Marsh Set to Address Sandpaper-Gate Claims
Todd Greenberg confirmed that Australia captain Pat Cummins would speak about the controversy in the coming days. Mitchell Marsh was expected to address the issue at a press conference ahead of Australia's first ODI against England in Perth.
"There's no doubt that you'll hear from Pat and you'll hear from other players over the coming days or weeks," Greenberg said. "And as I said, I know people are calling for the truth, but in reference to the bowlers, I think one thing that is clear is they've been very consistent from the original investigation back in 2018, in the days that immediately followed this Test match.
"Again, in their public statements in 2021, and again in many of my conversations with them over the weekend, their position has remained consistent and hasn't changed, and there'll obviously be time for them. Pat will speak at some point in the days or weeks ahead, but I expect that their position will be exactly the same as it has been since the start of this in 2018."
Smith and Warner, captain and vice-captain at the time, received 12-month suspensions, while Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban. Warner later faced a leadership ban, which Cricket Australia lifted in October 2024.
Also read: "We've got to dig deeper again": Ian Healy breaks silence on Usman Khawaja’s claims
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