Former Australia Coach Dismisses Khawajas Claims on Sandpaper Scandal
Former batting coach Greame Hick refutes Usman Khawajas claims about team knowledge of the 2018 sandpaper scandal.
New Delhi, November 11 (Daily Kiran) : Greame Hick, the former batting coach of Australia, has rejected Usman Khawaja’s startling claims regarding the infamous sandpaper scandal of 2018. Khawaja alleged that the entire team was aware of the use of an external and illegal substance during the Cape Town Test. In response, Hick stated, “What Khawaja is saying is completely wrong.”
These comments came just three days before the release of Khawaja’s book, “Sabr,” in which he discusses the sandpaper incident. He claimed that the plan to use sandpaper was known to the whole team and that similar tactics had been employed in matches prior to the Test.
Hick, who served as Australia’s batting coach from 2016 to 2020, expressed disappointment in Khawaja’s sweeping statements. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, he said, “I have seen various statements regarding the coaches, and I am very disappointed by their broad nature. Khawaja is directly saying that we were all involved. It wasn’t just the batsmen or bowlers, or just the staff. We were all involved.”
Until now, it was widely believed that only then-captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were implicated in the scandal, with Bancroft being the one who used sandpaper on the ball. Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and domestic cricket, while Bancroft was banned for nine months. Additionally, Smith was barred from captaincy for two years, and Warner faced a lifetime ban from leadership roles, which was lifted in 2024.
Hick emphasized that he had no knowledge of any ball-tampering incidents in Port Elizabeth or Cape Town. “I can honestly say that I knew nothing about it and had not heard anything. Like everyone else, I found out when it was shown on the big screen in Cape Town. I was sitting out on the balcony at the time,” he explained.
Following Khawaja’s sensational claims, Test captain Pat Cummins is expected to speak publicly for the first time on Friday, although Cricket Australia has yet to confirm this.
