Former Australian cricketer David Warner has accused Cricket Australia (CA) of conducting a flawed investigation into the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, suggesting there may have been a cover-up over who knew about the ball-tampering plot.
In a fresh statement released on Instagram on Saturday, Warner questioned why several senior Australian players were allegedly not interviewed during the original investigation.
“As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation,” Warner said.
“If that’s correct, then how can CA push the idea that the bowlers didn’t know?”
Warner alleged that Cricket Australia had decided who should be blamed from the beginning and had conducted an inadequate investigation to support that conclusion.
“That stinks of a cover up,” he declared.
The latest allegations come after former Australian opener Usman Khawaja claimed in his autobiography Sabr that the entire Australian team knew about the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018.
Australian captain Pat Cummins rejected Khawaja’s claims during a lengthy press conference on Friday.
However, Warner criticised Cummins’ response, accusing the Australian captain of failing to support Khawaja.
“I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzie under the bus, and I’m very, very disappointed about that,” Warner told Fox Cricket.
Warner insisted that he continued to stand by Khawaja’s account.
“It is the truth, and I really, really support him,” he said.
The original scandal saw Warner and then-captain Steve Smith banned for 12 months, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month suspension after being caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.
Cricket Australia’s investigation identified the three players as those involved in the ball-tampering plot.
Warner, however, believes questions remain over the investigation and the involvement or knowledge of other players.
The former opener also spoke emotionally about the personal consequences of the scandal, revealing that he and his wife had lost a baby during that difficult period.
“That’s why it really hurts me the most, until the truth is accepted,” Warner said.
He said the consequences of Sandpapergate continued to affect him, Smith and Bancroft eight years later.
Warner’s latest comments have reignited controversy surrounding one of Australian cricket’s biggest scandals, raising fresh questions about the original investigation and whether the full truth was established.
Cricket Australia has previously indicated that it does not intend to reopen the investigation. (Newswire)
