David Warner Accuses Cricket Australia Of Sandpapergate 'Cover-Up' In Explosive Instagram Post

Former Australia opener David Warner has accused Cricket Australia (CA) of orchestrating a "cover-up" during its investigation into the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal.

He alleged that the governing body never interviewed Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon before concluding that the bowling group had no knowledge of the ball-tampering plan.

In a strongly worded Instagram post on Saturday, 14 November, Warner questioned how CA could maintain that the bowlers were unaware of the incident if three of Australia's senior players were not questioned during the investigation.

“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.

The allegations concern the infamous Cape Town Test between Australia and South Africa in March 2018, when Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball.

The fallout saw then Australia captain Steve Smith and Warner receive 12-month suspensions, while Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban.

Warner was also handed a lifetime leadership ban in Australian cricket following the investigation.

Pat Cummins Calls Usman Khawaja's Claims 'Complete And Utter Nonsense'

Warner's latest comments come amid a fresh dispute over the events of 2018, following revelations in former Australia batter Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr.

Khawaja claimed in his book that the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper to tamper with the ball, challenging the long-maintained position that only a handful of players were involved in the incident.

Australia captain Pat Cummins addressed the allegations during a 68-minute press conference on Friday, 13 November. Strongly rejecting Khawaja's account, Cummins described the claims as "complete and utter nonsense".

The Australian skipper also dismissed Khawaja's suggestion that a similar ball-tampering episode had taken place in a Test before the Cape Town match.

However, Cummins acknowledged that the team culture in the Australian dressing room at the time was not ideal, admitting that the players had operated with a "win-at-all-costs" mentality.

Hours after Cummins' press conference, Warner hit back at the current Australia captain, accusing him of throwing Khawaja "under the bus". He also expressed sympathy for Khawaja, his childhood friend.

Warner has backed Khawaja's account and questioned how Cricket Australia could establish that the bowling group had no knowledge of the incident without interviewing its members.

What Did Australia's Bowlers Say About Sandpapergate?

The involvement of Australia's bowling attack has become a major talking point in the latest round of allegations.

In 2021, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon issued a joint statement maintaining that they had no knowledge of sandpaper being taken onto the field during the Cape Town Test.

The four players have continued to stand by that position.

Warner's latest accusation has now questioned the process through which Cricket Australia arrived at its conclusions in 2018. His argument centres on whether the governing body adequately questioned the bowling group before accepting their lack of knowledge of the ball-tampering plan.

Notably, Warner did not mention Cummins by name in his latest Instagram post, despite the current Australia captain being part of the team during the Cape Town Test.