Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has pushed back against allegations in Usman Khawaja’s new book about the 2018 ball-tampering incident, describing the claim that he was an architect of a sandpaper scheme as complete and utter nonsense.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball-tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense.
Cummins said he was genuinely shocked by the comments in Khawaja’s book this week and denied knowing that sandpaper would be taken onto the field.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: When he says we all knew, if [by] that he means we knew sandpaper was going out on the field, he’s 100% wrong. I said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening …
He also accused the book of treating his life, the lives of others and Australian cricket casually.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: been casual with my [life] and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket
Cummins ruled out taking legal action, despite saying he had been advised that some of the things said were probably defamatory.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: I mean, I did get advised this week that some of the things that have [been] said are probably defamatory. I won’t be doing that. You got to move on. It’s been eight years.
He said there is a lot of nuance in what bowlers do to the ball, noting players were allowed to shine it and apply saliva but not load it up.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: There’s a huge spectrum here of right and wrong, but there’s a lot of nuance. You are allowed to shine a ball. You are allowed to apply saliva. Not any more, but you were. But you cannot apply too much, you cannot load it up.
The captain said he hoped the news conference would draw a line under the controversy and allow attention to return to cricket.
Source: Pat Cummins press conference live updates: Australian cricket captain speaks about Usman Khawaja’s ‘sandpapergate’ claims. Supporting passage: Hopefully today we put a line through it and we can move on to much more fun topics, like actual cricket starting this afternoon.
Uncertainty: The source does not detail the specific contents of Usman Khawaja’s book beyond Pat Cummins’s description of the claims.
Uncertainty: Usman Khawaja’s response to Pat Cummins’s remarks is not included in the supplied live update.
Uncertainty: The source does not specify who gave Pat Cummins legal advice or the exact nature of that advice.