Sandpapergate Row: David Warner Names Starc, Lyon and Hazlewood in Fresh Attack on Cricket Australia’s 2018 Probe

David Warner backed Usman Khawaja’s claims of widespread knowledge of the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, accusing Cricket Australia of a ‘cover-up’ for allegedly not interviewing senior bowlers during its investigation.

Former Australian captain and flamboyant opener David Warner is apparently not willing to let the dust settle on the infamous 2018 Newlands Sandpapergate Scandal anytime soon, as he launched another fresh attack on Cricket Australia’s probe into the ball-tampering incident.

The 2018 Sandpapergate controversy was revived after Usman Khawaja alleged widespread knowledge of the ball-tampering incident within the Australian camp in his new book, ‘Sabr’. Khawaja’s allegations were backed by his former Australian opening partner David Warner, who called them ‘100% accurate' and slammed Cricket Australia’s investigation into the incident, describing the interview process as ‘rushed and botched.’

However, at the press conference in Sydney, Australia Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins strongly pushed back against Khawaja’s claims, dismissing the allegations as ‘complete and utter nonsense,’ while maintaining that the bowling attack had no prior knowledge of the ball tampering plot.

‘That Stinks of a Cover-Up’

David Warner, who was banned from playing professionally for a year alongside the then-captain Steve Smith for his role in the scandal, took to his Instagram handle to launch a fresh attack on Cricket Australia for their ‘shoddy’ investigation into the 2018 Newlands episode.

The former Australian opener questioned the CA on how the board could definitively clear the bowling unit of any involvement when senior bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon were never formally interviewed during the probe into the Sandpapergate scandal, which rocked the cricket world during Australia’s 2018 tour of South Africa.

“As far as I am aware, CA did not interview Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon or Mitchell Starc in their 2018 investigation. If that's correct, then how can CA push the idea that the bowlers didn't know?” Warner wrote on Instagram.

“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,” he added.

However, David Warner did not mention Pat Cummins’ name, who was part of the same bowling attack when the ball-tampering scandal unfolded during the third Test in Cape Town in March 2018. However, following Cummins’ press conference, Warner called out Australia's Test and ODI captain for throwing Usman Khawaja ‘under the bus’ by denying his allegations.

Warner's Claims Spark Fresh Debate Over Cape Town Scandal

David Warner’s latest attack on Cricket Australia’s investigation into the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal probe has sparked debate on social media, especially X (formerly Twitter), with fans and cricket enthusiasts questioning the credibility of the board’s probe into the incident.

Taking to their X handles, many shared their reactions to Warner’s latest comments, with some accusing Cricket Australia of protecting the senior bowlers, while others questioned why the players were never interviewed during the investigation.

Another section of users criticised the former Australian opener for bringing up the controversy nearly eight years after the incident, questioning why he had not raised these concerns during the original investigation. Some also argued Warner was reopening an issue that the team had seemingly moved on from.

@mufaddal_vohra CA is definitely covering something up because if Khawaja is right, then the Cape Town incident was not an isolated one, they must have been doing this before, it is just that Bancroft got caught on live TV in Cape Town and whole thing blew up.

— Sanjay (@Sanjayspeaking) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra True as fuck David Warner was the vice captain of the team that time and cricket Australia threw him under the bus and gave him the permanent captaincy ban that's the reality

— Golu Yadav (@GoluRMCF) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra How is it possible that Cricket Australia didn't interview all 5 bowlers after the biggest scandal in their history? It's a disgrace. Glad the truth is coming out now even though it's 8 years too late.

— Hudson (@Hudson__25) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra If du plessis got the clue that ball condition changes suddenly then how tf bowlers didn't know bruh

— Batman (@wanabe_batman) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra It makes sense that the whole team was involved, or at least knew what was happening at that moment, but CA tried to reduce the damage and made only 3 players the scapegoats. You have to feel for Smith and Warner, since they alone carried this whole burden on themselves

— Gojo cat (@Mewthecutest) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra No one with a decent brain would beleive that bowlers have no idea about tampering of the ball when the whole SA dressing room could see what bancroft was doing on the field..

— SmallCityTrader (@SmallCityTrader) November 14, 2026

@mufaddal_vohra Years later, Sandpapergate continues to raise questions. A transparent response from CA could finally put the doubts to rest.

— HIMANI 🐥 (@himanii_68) November 14, 2026

Took you 8 years and a retirement to find your voice. You've nothing to lose so now you're putting the careers of your teammates at stake here. "Aussies are mates"? Mate, please stfu.

— Manya (@CSKian716) November 14, 2026

If David Warner’s claims are true

That's Absolutely big breaking news

Cricket Australia didn’t even interview the bowlers after its biggest scandal 😳

— Ash (@Ashsay_) November 14, 2026

That's why they say that if something happens within the team, it should stay within the team. It happened a long time ago, and everyone had moved on until a certain someone deliberately decided to make a mess out of it just to get some attention.

— DHFMessi 🐐 (@LaPulga2704) November 14, 2026

Ok let's just say they weren't involved.. but how can a professional bowler not figure out that the ball is behaving differently.

— Etachi (@shinichikudou48) November 14, 2026

What's the point of talking about it now & throwing away all the frustration you're going through. You should have raised these stupid questions back in the day, if you didn't then you have compromised for something back in the day itself?

— Abhi | abhiverse (@abhiverseHQ) November 14, 2026

What's going on in CA 😭 everybody exposing each other

— 𝕐𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧 (@Yasin180_) November 14, 2026

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg had already ruled out reopening the investigation on November 10, stating that the board saw ‘no compelling reason’ to revisit the 2018 scandal.