Warner jabs former Australian coach Lehmann over Sandpapergate sanctions

David Warner has fired an indirect jab at Darren Lehmann, suggesting the ex-Australian coach knew of the use of sandpaper in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.Warner agreed with former International Cricket Council match referee Chris Broad, who said that Lehmann must have known of Australia's use of sandpaper on the ball, and if he did not, then he should not have been coach."Darren Lehman surely knew all about it," Broad told Track Radio."And if he didn't, he shouldn't have been the coach at the time."He has got away lightly because he, OK, he left his job a few months later, but he didn't get any sanctions."Warner replied to Track Radio's social media post of Broad's comments, writing on X: "I couldn't agree more and that's hard for me to say!"Lehmann, who stepped down as Australia's coach in the aftermath of the 2018 scandal in South Africa, has denied personal knowledge of the Test team using sandpaper on the ball."I don't think everyone would have known [about the use of sandpaper]. You do know ball tampering is going on because it's been happening for 150 years," Lehmann, who will co-host the ABC's cricket podcast this season, told Summer Grandstand on the weekend."It's just how it's being done, and how you would know to that extent? That's an individual case by case, to be fair."I can only speak to what I know, and I know ball tampering was a big part of the game of cricket. Now it is obsolete."That doesn't make it right either, but that's the case, and we paid a heavy price for that."Lehmann's comments are at odds with Usman Khawaja's claims the whole team knew of the sandpaper plans, and the illegal tactic was also used in the match prior to being uncovered by television cameras at the infamous 2018 Test in Cape Town.Cricket Australia (CA) has ruled out reopening its investigation into the scandal.Warner on Monday night backed Khawaja's claims, labelling CA's investigation as "rushed and botched" after it found only he, Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith knew of the plan.CA banned Smith and Warner from playing any cricket for one year and also suspended Bancroft for nine months. Smith and Warner were also stripped of their respective captain and vice-captain roles.Paceman Mitchell Starc repeated his denial of the sandpaper plot when he became the first player from the match to front media, citing a statement he and his fellow bowlers made in 2021.Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann. Khawaja's claims that everyone knew about the use of sandpaper has been backed by Warner, denied by Lehmann, while Smith is yet to comment. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)"We [bowlers] weren't aware anything was taken on to the field to be tampered with," Starc said on Tuesday."We saw [the sandpaper] on the big screen in Cape Town."Asked why he and Khawaja had differing views, Starc responded: "That's a question for him.""I'll stick to what I said … at the time, eight years ago. Clearly, there's different versions from different people."Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh said on Tuesday it was understandable players' versions of events could differ."Players and staff at the heart of the issue are entitled to share their experiences, just as others are entitled to put such a challenging period in their life behind them," Marsh said in a statement."There are no winners in this issue, and nothing can undo what happened."But we must recognise that there are humans in the centre of this and we are calling for the ongoing vitriol directed at those involved to come to an end."Marsh's statement attracted the ire of former Test batsman Damien Martyn, who posted on X: "This statement from our players union does not reflect all ex players' opinions."Meanwhile, the author of a review into Australia's cricket culture of cricket said he may have been lied to by players.Simon Longstaff led an Ethics Centre team tasked with examining the sport's culture, but not the sandpaper scandal itself."Those matters had been investigated by Cricket Australia, and the findings were concluded," Longstaff wrote in the Australian Financial Review on Wednesday."Even so, we picked up whispers — few and very faint — that, perhaps, the public record did not tell the full story."All I can say is that if what Khawaja alleges turns out to be true, then I was also lied to."It is easy enough to understand how a group of players might perpetuate — either by act or omission — what could turn out to be a lie."AAP