{
  "id": 19771772,
  "title": "'Utter nonsense', Australia skipper Cummins denies involvement in sandpaper plot",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/utter-nonsense-australia-skipper-cummins-denies-involvement-in",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-13T06:36:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Recorder",
    "slug": "business-recorder",
    "url": "https://www.brecorder.com/news/40448738/utter-nonsense-australia-skipper-cummins-denies-involvement-in-sandpaper-plot"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins vehemently denied on Friday any involvement in a controversial sandpaper plot to tamper with the ball during a Test match against South Africa in 2018. Cummins dismissed allegations in Usman Khawaja’s recently published autobiography as \"utter nonsense,\" stating that he had never been part of the scheme. Khawaja claimed in the book that all players in the team knew about the plan, which triggered calls for a new investigation. However, Cummins insisted that he was unaware of any such plan and accused Khawaja of making \"far more serious\" allegations, including that he and others were the \"architects\" of the scheme. Former teammates Steve Smith and David Warner were banned from elite cricket for a year, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month suspension for their roles in the ball-tampering incident. Cummins expressed shock and disappointment over Khawaja's assertion that the trio had paid a \"heavy price\" for the incident, particularly highlighting Khawaja's statement that he had \"thrown Uzzie under the bus.\" Both players have criticized the 2018 Cricket Australia investigation, which found the three players solely responsible for the plot. Cummins stated that he respected Khawaja's right to tell his story but felt some of the allegations were \"very serious\" and had to be addressed.",
  "summary": "SYDNEY: Australia captain Pat Cummins again denied on Friday any involvement in the plot to use sandpaper on the ball in a test against South Africa in 2018, describing the allegations in Usman Khawaja’s autobiography as “utter nonsense”. Former Australia batsman Khawaja, whose autobiography was published on Tuesday, said last weekend that all the players in the team at Newlands knew about the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "ESPNcricinfo",
        "title": "Cummins: Khawaja's allegations 'complete and utter nonsense'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/cummins-khawajas-allegations-complete-and-utter-nonsense",
        "published": "2026-11-12T22:47:57.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "'Utter nonsense', Australia skipper Cummins denies involvement in sandpaper plot",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/utter-nonsense-australia-skipper-cummins-denies-involvement-in",
        "published": "2026-11-12T23:16:35.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "Pat Cummins Breaks Silence On Usman Khawaja's Sandpaper Controversy Claims; Calls Allegations 'Complete And Utter Nonsense'",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/pat-cummins-breaks-silence-on-usman-khawajas-sandpaper-controversy",
        "published": "2026-11-13T02:06:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}