Cricket Australia has ruled out reopening its investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering controversy, following allegations in Usman Khawaja's book that more than the three suspended players knew about the sandpaper plan.
Chief executive Todd Greenberg told SEN radio on Tuesday that there was not “any compelling reason” to revisit the investigation, even though there are “specific details” in Khawaja's book “that contradict the versions that have been provided by others”.
No new inquiry planned
Captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and batter Cameron Bancroft were handed long bans after a short Cricket Australia investigation into the incident in Cape Town.
Khawaja alleged that more than those three players were aware of the team's ball-tampering, and that his calls for the players to take collective responsibility at the time were rebuffed.
Greenberg, who only stepped into his role last year, said establishing another inquiry into the events of 2018 would not benefit anyone.
Conflicting accounts
“You end up at the same intersection where one person's version of events contradict the others, and I'm not sure what outcome people are searching for,” he said.
“I think what people want is a single outcome that everyone is aligned up on, but I don't think that's possible on this occasion because we have such conflicting views from the same moment in time.”
Greenberg was chief executive of the Australian Cricketers Association in 2021 when Bancroft told the Guardian he “lost control of [his] values”. That interview triggered a response from Pat Cummins and his fellow bowlers in Cape Town that they had no knowledge of the ball-tampering.
Warner criticises investigation
Warner criticised the investigation when speaking on Monday, saying it was “rushed and botched”.
Khawaja countered suggestions that he has sought to take advantage of the controversy to sell books.
“With all due respect guys, I played cricket for a long time, I'm very fortunate, I don't need the money,” he said on Instagram. “This has never been about commercial gain.”
He said his publisher, Penguin Random House, and manager were not aware of his intention to cast new light on the events of 2018 when he signed the book deal in 2023, and he is unlikely to benefit financially from the controversy stirred by his account.
“I could have written blah blah blah blah blah throughout the whole book and I'd be paid the same,” he said.
“And before you even start to think about royalties and book sales and all this other jabber, I have to sell so many books for royalties to even kick in, I don't reckon I will ever get there. And even if it does. It's pennies. Anyone who's written a book will tell you the same.”
