Starc Denies Knowledge of 2018 Ball Tampering Plan as Cricket Australia Rules Out New Inquiry
What happened
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc publicly rejected Usman Khawaja's autobiography claims that the broader dressing room knew about the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scheme, while Cricket Australia ruled out reopening the inquiry.
The Context
* A published dispute: In his November 10, 2026 autobiography, Usman Khawaja alleged that the entire Australian team knew about the sandpaper plan across two Test matches, a narrative endorsed by David Warner. * Bowlers maintain innocence: Starc reaffirmed the bowling group's 2021 stance, confirming he had zero awareness of foreign substances being applied to the ball before or during the match. * Case closed administratively: Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg confirmed the governing body will not launch a fresh inquiry, noting that conflicting historical accounts offer no institutional benefit to revisit.
The Number
— the total count of players sanctioned by Cricket Australia following the 2018 Newlands incident, leaving the operational scope of institutional culpability firmly capped eight years later.
Takeaway
Cricket Australia will keep the official record limited to the original trio, leaving internal governance disputes to play out in public memoirs rather than regulatory boardrooms.
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Mitchell Starc breaks silence to deny knowledge of ball tampering plan
Mitchell Starc has publicly denied knowing about the sandpaper ball-tampering plan during the 2018 Cape Town Test, saying the bowlers were not aware anything was being taken onto the field. His response followed claims in Usman Khawaja's new book tha...
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Cricket Australia will not open another investigation into ‘sandpapergate’
Cricket Australia has said it will not open another investigation into the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, widely known as 'Sandpapergate', and that it is comfortable with the outcome of the original inquiry, following fresh revelations from f...