{
  "id": 18644012,
  "title": "‘We knew': Usman Khawaja blows apart Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon's claims of innocence in sandpaper scandal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/07/we-knew-usman-khawaja-blows-apart-cummins-starc-hazlewood-and-lyons",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-07T05:15:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/knew-usman-khawaja-blows-apart-023413552.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cricket legend Usman Khawaja has shattered the widely accepted narrative of the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, claiming that every member of the Australian team knew about the plan. In his upcoming autobiography, \"Sabr,\" Khawaja asserts that the ball-tampering scheme was first discussed during the second Test at Port Elizabeth, which was later referred to as Gqeberha. He claims that the plan to use sandpaper on the ball evolved over several days and involved multiple conversations between the players and staff. Khawaja's claims contradict the official statements made by four bowlers, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon, who denied any knowledge of the scheme in a 2021 joint statement. According to Khawaja, captain Steve Smith and others downplayed their involvement, whereas he maintains that the entire team was aware of the plan from the outset.",
  "summary": "Usman Khawaja has reopened the 2018 Sandpaper Gate scandal, declaring 'we knew' and rejecting claims that Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon were unaware.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ESPNcricinfo",
        "title": "'It was all of us' - Khawaja exposes sandpaper details from 2018",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/it-was-all-of-us-khawaja-exposes-sandpaper-details-from-2018",
        "published": "2026-11-06T22:44:26.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}