Cummins: Khawaja's allegations 'complete and utter nonsense'
Cricinfo • • sports
Key Points:
- Australia captain Pat Cummins strongly refuted Usman Khawaja's claim that the entire 2018 Cape Town XI knew about the use of sandpaper for ball tampering, calling it "100% wrong" and "complete and utter nonsense."
- Cummins emphasized there was no master plan or collective team awareness regarding illegal ball tampering, describing the team's 2018 mentality as having an "ugly underbelly" but denying orchestrated cheating.
- He expressed surprise at Khawaja's allegation that sandpaper was used on the ball at the boundary during the prior Port Elizabeth Test, stating this was news to him and others.
- Cummins confirmed he was interviewed during Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation and maintained his consistent account, while noting Khawaja was reportedly not interviewed despite being present.
- While disappointed by Khawaja's casual handling of serious allegations affecting reputations, Cummins will not pursue legal action and believes the original punishments for Smith, Warner, and Bancroft were excessively harsh.
