New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former Australia batter Usman Khawaja has revealed that the team used sandpaper to alter the ball during the 2018 Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, weeks before the infamous ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town led to lengthy suspensions for Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steven Smith.
In his autobiography Sabr, released on Tuesday, Khawaja recounts how Australia allegedly prepared the ball during an interval in the second Test at St George’s Park. The episode, he says, helped the bowlers generate extraordinary reverse swing during a dramatic South African collapse.
South Africa were 153 for two when play resumed, with Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla having put together an 88-run partnership. Australia then took four wickets for just 28 runs in the final session of the second day.
Khawaja’s account describes Bancroft working on the ball during the break, using sandpaper to roughen one side. He recalled inspecting it while fielding at gully and being astonished by the amount of reverse swing it was producing.
“The shiny side was shiny and, thanks to sandpaper, the reverse side was really rough and dry,” Khawaja wrote, describing how the Australian bowlers subsequently made the ball move sharply.
He also recalled one of the bowlers remarking in the team huddle that the ball was moving so much that nobody should tamper with it any further.
Khawaja directly linked the episode to the Cape Town controversy, writing: “Didn’t you guys get caught in Cape Town, not Port Elizabeth? Yes, we did, but who said we didn’t do it the game before as well?”
The former opener also highlighted the contrast between the two teams’ ability to generate reverse swing, claiming South Africa achieved it in fewer than 25 overs, while Australia had taken considerably longer.
Despite the bowling burst, Australia could not secure control of the match. AB de Villiers produced an unbeaten 126 off 146 deliveries to help South Africa recover and establish a match-winning lead. South Africa eventually won by six wickets after dismissing Australia for 239 in the second innings.
Khawaja further alleged that Australia’s use of the ball extended beyond the Port Elizabeth Test, describing similar practices during the 2017-18 Ashes series, particularly in Perth and Adelaide. He wrote that the team had worked out ways to manipulate the ball’s seam to generate reverse swing, including with the pink ball.
His autobiography also revisits the fallout from the Cape Town scandal and Cricket Australia’s investigation, which identified Bancroft, Warner and Smith as the players with prior knowledge of the incident. Khawaja said he was not interviewed during the inquiry.
He recalled being angry after a bowler publicly denied knowing anything about the ball-tampering episode. Khawaja also described approaching then-head coach Darren Lehmann before the Johannesburg Test to discuss speaking publicly about the controversy.
According to Khawaja, Lehmann cautioned that the punishments had already been handed down and that further public comments could worsen the situation. Lehmann resigned before the Johannesburg Test.
The revelations add a significant new dimension to the 2018 ball-tampering controversy, with Khawaja’s account alleging that the use of sandpaper was not confined to the Cape Town Test that triggered the suspensions.
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