Warner: Cricket Australia investigation smells of a cover-up

David Warner argued that Cricket Australia's investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal smells of a cover-up. Warner made the claim in a new post on Instagram.

Warner claimed that Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, who were on duty in the 2018 Test match against South Africa in Cape Town, were not interviewed as part of Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation. In his view, Cricket Australia's insistence that the bowlers had no knowledge of the tampering is inconsistent. Warner said the organisation decided from the outset whom it would blame and carried out the investigation carelessly, in a way that served that purpose.

This debate was reignited by Usman Khawaja's new autobiography, "Sabr: Finding my way in cricket and in life". In the book, Khawaja wrote that he knew the entire Australian team had changed the ball with sandpaper before the Cape Town Test. Khawaja also said Cricket Australia did not speak to him as part of the investigation. Earlier, in his statement on Monday, Warner had said the investigation was rushed and badly conducted, and he backed Khawaja.

Warner and then captain Steve Smith were banned for 12 months, while Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood were not punished, and in 2021 they said in a joint statement that they had not known the ball had been tampered with. Sky Sports News has contacted Cricket Australia for comment.