'His notes need to be reviewed': Key reviewer in sandpaper scandal calls for further probe after Khawaja's claims
New Delhi, Nov 11
Peter Collins, a key figure in the independent review into Sandpapergate, turned up the heat on Cricket Australia after chief executive Todd Greenberg said the governing body would not be investigating further, stating that the board must launch further investigation to uncover the truth.
Collins' comment came after Usman Khawaja, in his new book, Sabr, which detailed the events of 2018 Sandpapergate, claimed that the entire Australian Test team was aware of the use of sandpaper during the 2018 Cape Town Test in South Africa.
The internal investigation in the aftermath of the Sandpaper Controversy during the Cape Town Test resulted in David Warner and Steve Smith copping 12-month playing bans and Cameron Bancroft a nine-month suspension.
Smith was also told he would not be allowed to hold a leadership position for two years, while Warner was slapped with a lifetime leadership ban, although that was lifted in 2024.
Following extracts of the book being released in the lead-up to its launch, Warner backed Khawaja's version of events. But Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg said on Tuesday that the investigation would not be reopened, as the governing body is "comfortable with the outcome" of the 2018 probe.
Collins, who helped facilitate a review into the team's on-field culture in the wake of the 2018 scandal, stated that on fresh investigation into the incident, examining Khawaja's personal notes must be a central starting point.
"We need to have a further investigation," Collins told nine.com.au. "Khawaja needs to be interviewed, and his contemporaneous notes need to be reviewed."
He believes CA must establish why Khawaja's account appears to contradict the bowling quartet of Pat Cummins, Mitchel Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon's longstanding denial of knowledge of the ball-tampering plot.
"What we don't know is whether or not what Khawaja is saying is true, and until we can get to that, this cloud of doubt hangs over the four bowlers and Smith and the team. It is not right that their integrity is questioned without a chance to resolve the issues raised in the book (his memoir, Sabr, released on Tuesday)," he added.
"The tragedy for me is Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon and Smith are all great players, and this very different version of events provided by Khawaja and backed by Warner shouldn't be allowed by Cricket Australia to hang over their heads.
"Cricket Australia cannot just hope it all goes away. Failing to investigate won't resolve the issue. And God knows what's in Warner's book," Collins further said.
— IANS
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