Mitchell Starc says any future conversation with Usman Khawaja is up to his former teammate, after rejecting Khawaja’s claim that Australia’s entire team knew about the 2018 sandpaper plot.
Starc became the first member of Australia’s bowling group to respond publicly after Khawaja’s explosive revelations reignited controversy surrounding the scandal.
The left-armer maintained that he had no knowledge of sandpaper being used before Cameron Bancroft was filmed with the material in Cape Town.
Starc also said he was unaware that sandpaper had been used during the previous Test of the 2018 series, after Khawaja claimed the plan had been devised and carried out at St George’s Park.
Australia’s bowlers issued a statement in 2021 insisting they had not known about the ball-tampering plan. Starc repeated that position at the launch of Kayo Cricket on Tuesday.
‘We weren’t aware that anything had been taken onto the field to tamper with the ball,’ Starc told a packed media gathering.
‘We saw the sandpaper on the big screen in Cape Town.’
‘As for the book, I haven’t read it and I probably won’t read it. That’s something for Usman to explain.’
Mitchell Starc has firmly rejected Usman Khawaja’s account of events surrounding Sandpapergate
Usman Khawaja, pictured with his wife Rachel, strongly denied exploiting the ball-tampering scandal to boost sales of his newly released memoir
Starc spoke after Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg ruled out reopening the investigation on Tuesday morning.
That inquiry concluded that only Bancroft, captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner knew about the plan.
Warner has since written on Instagram that Khawaja’s claims were ‘100 per cent accurate’ and described Cricket Australia’s investigation as ‘rushed and botched’.
Asked why his version of events differed so sharply from Khawaja’s, Starc said: ‘That’s a question for him.’
‘I’ll stand by what I said five years ago and what I said at the time, eight years ago.’
‘There are clearly different accounts from different people, and I’ll leave it where I left it back then.’
Starc said he had not spoken to Khawaja ‘in the last day or two’ after sensational extracts from Khawaja’s autobiography, published on Tuesday, emerged over the weekend.
Asked whether he expected to speak with Khawaja again, Starc replied: ‘It’s up to him.’
Starc’s comments followed Khawaja’s emphatic denial that he had used the ball-tampering scandal to generate interest in his book, saying: ‘I don’t need the money.’
The former Test opener posted on Instagram on Tuesday to reject suggestions that he had struck a deal with publisher Penguin to include a chapter about the 2018 controversy.
‘I did not negotiate anything with Penguin about sandpaper or any other subject in my life,’ Khawaja wrote.
‘We didn’t even discuss it.’
‘I signed with them in 2023, and all they told me was to tell my story. I had complete control over what went into the book and what was left out. It was entirely my decision.’
‘Just over two years later, I gave them my final draft. That was the first time they had seen the book. Penguin was shocked. My management was shocked.’
Khawaja also said he would earn little additional money from strong memoir sales and likely would have made the same amount without discussing the scandal.
The retired cricketer has continued to defend the explosive Sandpapergate revelations in his memoir Sabr, released on Tuesday
Khawaja, right, claimed the entire Australian team knew sandpaper had been used during the 2018 Test against South Africa in Cape Town. He is pictured with Steve Smith, one of three players suspended over the incident
The ball-tampering controversy overshadowed Tuesday afternoon’s Kayo launch and threatens to dominate the opening stages of Australia’s men’s summer.
Mitch Marsh is scheduled to speak before the first ODI against England later this week and is certain to face questions about the claims.
Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne and Scott Boland have also been asked about the issue in recent days.
‘It’s disappointing that this is what we’re discussing as an exciting summer gets under way,’ Starc said.
‘Different people probably felt differently about it at the time and have continued to do so over the past eight years.’
‘That includes not just certain players, but also the staff and everyone else involved.’
‘Boof, Darren Lehmann, who was coach at the time, has also spoken about it. He shouldn’t be forgotten in all of this.’
‘As Trav, Head, said the other day, the group has changed significantly. We are focused far more on what lies ahead than on what has already happened.’
Michael Clarke: ‘The investigation needs to be reopened’
Former Australia captain Michael Clarke says cricket supporters can no longer ‘trust what’s real’ and has called for the ball-tampering investigation to be reopened.
Clarke believes Australia has not moved on from the scandal and needs clarity about what happened.
‘They can’t trust what’s real. They won’t know the truth until this is reopened and the facts come out,’ Clarke told 2DayFM.
‘We had that opportunity in 2018, but the truth didn’t come out. We had another opportunity in 2021 when Bancroft made those comments, and again the truth didn’t come out.’
‘Now we have another chance. I want to see the truth, whatever it is, come out so people can finally be honest and move on.’
Five years ago, Bancroft told The Guardian that it was ‘probably pretty self-explanatory’ when asked whether Australia’s bowlers knew the ball was being tampered with sandpaper.
Clarke also said current Australia captain Pat Cummins had questions to answer, noting that Smith’s removal from the leadership ultimately opened the door for Cummins to take charge.
‘For me, there are more questions than answers right now,’ Clarke added.
‘First, I want to know whether everyone knew. Some players have said they didn’t. Did they know or not? That’s important if we are going to establish the truth.’
‘I can’t believe we haven’t heard from Pat Cummins, the Australian captain. Steve Smith lost his job. If this had not happened, Tim Paine would never have captained Australia, and neither would Pat Cummins.’
‘Pat Cummins would not have captained a match by this stage if Sandpapergate had not occurred, because Steve Smith would still be captain.’
