Australia DID tamper with the ball during 2017-18 Ashes 'Sandpapergate' scandal - and the whole team knew, admits former player Usman Khawaja

Published: 11:15 EST, 10 November 2026 | Updated: 11:22 EST, 10 November 2026 Australia did tamper with the ball during the 2017-18 Ashes - and the whole team knew about it, former player Usman Khawaja has admitted.The series, which England lost 4-0, was marred by the 'Sandpapergate' scandal after Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to rough up a ball to make it swing in flight. Aussie captain Steve Smith vice-captain David Warner were banned for a year, with batsman Bancroft sidelined for nine months - but now Khawaja says the entire squad knew about the machinations during the third Test in Perth.At the time, bowlers denied that they had knowledge of the plan. He writes in his autobiography Sabr: 'We won the game comprehensively by an innings … Starcy [Mitchell Starc] bowled that unforgettable ball to James Vince off the crack. 'We were reverse-swinging it late on day five. Actually, we were reverse-swinging the ball the game before too - except it was much tougher, because it was the pink ball. 'But we - and I say ‘we’, because we were a team, whether you did the deed or not - had worked out that, if we raised the flaps up on the quarter seam on that ball, it was almost like it had a rudder on it and it’d start reverse-swinging.'And before you start going at me, calm down. The whole world was doing whatever little they could to try to reverse-swing the ball.'He added: 'During this time, every team was reverse-swinging the ball. These were the old Kookaburras, which had a single lacquer on them. So they softened up and got older a lot quicker, which meant you could rough them up on the rough side much more easily — and hence get them to reverse. It was just the norm. Everyone was trying to do something.'Hell, in 2005 the English team were putting lollies on the ball the whole time, and [Andrew] Flintoff and [Simon] Jones had it reversing like I’ve never seen before.'Waner has since admitted that Khawaja is '100% accurate' in his recollection of the incident.'It's been eight years since I spoke on this topic. And Ussie, I throw my full support behind you,' Warner said. 'I thank you for what you've done. It's 100% accurate what you've said. Now everyone knows the truth.' More to follow.