Cummins unconcerned by Khawaja memoir before South Africa Test return

Pat Cummins says he has no concerns about Usman Khawaja’s forthcoming autobiography as Australia prepares to begin its first Test series in South Africa since the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal. [1]

The Australia captain said Khawaja called him a few weeks ago to give him advance notice of the book but offered little detail. Cummins said he had told his former team-mate to tell his story. Khawaja retired from international cricket in January, and his autobiography is due in November. [1]

The series is due to start on Friday, 9 October. Cummins said investigations into the 2018 episode had been completed at the time, the team had moved on and his focus was on captaining Australia. [1]

A question about the scandal resurfaced in 2021, when Cameron Bancroft was asked in a Guardian interview whether Australia’s bowlers had known of the ball-tampering plan. According to the BBC, he replied: “It’s pretty self-explanatory.” His answer did not specify what any bowler knew. [1]

Cummins and fellow bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon subsequently denied prior knowledge. In a joint statement, they said they learnt that a foreign substance had been taken on to the field to alter the ball only when images appeared on the screen at Newlands. Whether Khawaja will address the episode in his book, and what he might say about it, remains unknown. [1]