‘More people had known’: Sandpapergate reviewer reveals whispers of wider scandal

File Pic: Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft

Dr Simon Longstaff, the ethics expert commissioned by Cricket Australia (CA) to review the team's culture after the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, has revealed that he heard “whispers” that more players knew about the ball-tampering plot than the three who were punished. Speaking to Nine's Weekend Today on Saturday, Longstaff said he gave senior players an opportunity to reveal anything they had not disclosed during the investigation, but nobody changed their statements. “Along the way, there were whispers, and I can't put it any more strongly than that, that something else had gone on earlier and that more people had known,” he said. “When we came to look into that – because I couldn’t turn a blind eye to it once the suggestion was made – I afforded the senior people I spoke with an opportunity … ‘Well, is there something else you want to say about the whole circumstance?’” “Nobody chose to make any alteration to their statement, so I was left with basically a blank wall. Some people saying one thing, others another, but not sufficient to be able to say there needs to be a further inquiry at that time,” he added.

Longstaff questions whether CA should revisit investigation

Longstaff said the whispers also suggested that ball-tampering may have taken place before the infamous Cape Town Test against South Africa. “We’re talking effectively about … good people who made bad decisions, so that’s where we looked,” he said. He could not recall whether Usman Khawaja was invited to contribute to the review, after the former Australia opener claimed in his book, Sabr, that he was never interviewed despite being willing to tell his version of events. “I can't remember exactly who it was that was given the opportunity to contribute to our review, which went much further than just the players involved,” Longstaff said. “It looked at the whole of Cricket Australia, sponsors, supporters … past Test players to see what the comparison could be. Not everybody we invited to participate in our review chose to accept that invitation. They had the liberty not to.” Longstaff also said contributions were made under strict confidentiality conditions. On Pat Cummins' denial of Khawaja's claims, Longstaff described the Australia captain's press conference as “absolutely convincing in his sincerity”. “If Cummins did not know, and I believe he didn't, then not everybody knew. But that leaves a different question,” he said, adding that it remained unclear whether a considerably larger group knew about the plan.

He suggested CA should decide whether it wanted to establish the reason behind the conflicting accounts.

Warner accuses CA of cover-up

Meanwhile, David Warner has accused CA of conducting a flawed investigation and questioned whether it interviewed senior bowlers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon. “As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon in their 2018 investigation,” Warner posted on Instagram. “If that’s correct, then how can CA push the idea that the bowlers didn’t know?” “It looks like they had decided who they wanted to blame from the very beginning ran a shoddy investigation to serve the purpose and now they want to maintain the false narrative that the bowlers had no idea. That stinks of a cover up.” Warner and then captain Steve Smith received one-year bans, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months following the Cape Town incident.