Last Updated on 28 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey

An emotional Pat Cummins has not held back in response of Usman Khawaja’s claim that everyone knew about sandpapergate in 2018. The Australian captain faced the media on Friday morning at Cricket NSW, starting with his own statements before answering questions.

Cummins began by emphatically denying the comments before questioning Khawaja’s actions as a friend.

“When he [Usman Khawaja] says “we all knew”, and by that he means, ‘we knew sandpaper was going out onto the field’, he’s 100% wrong,” Cummins said. “I’ve said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.”

“But I think Usman says things that are far more serious than that. He says that I and others were architects of a scheme to ball tamper with sandpaper. That’s complete and utter nonsense.

“I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman had told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper. That’s not the Usman that I know. It’s not the Usman that has been part of a team that has helped rebuild the Australian cricket culture over the last eight years. And the Usman that would’ve stopped that from happening there and then.

“Usman is a friend but friends are not casual with each other’s lives and reputations. In his book, Uzzy is being casual with my life and the lives of many others, and I think Australian cricket.

“I support his right to tell a story, 100%, and I’m glad that he feels that he can. But we have to be accountable for the things we say and do.”

More to come….