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Australia captain Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’

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Australia captain Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’. (2026, November 13). Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/11/13/australia-captain-cummins-denies-involvement-in?traffic_source=rss

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Al Jazeera · collected 2026-11-13

Quick Summary

Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins has denied allegations from former teammate Usman Khawaja linking him to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. This news report details how Cummins rejected claims made in Khawaja's new book regarding the use of sandpaper during that event. Cummins stated he feels betrayed by the accusations and maintains he had no involvement in the scandal.
Written by AI on 2026-11-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
See how they differ ↓

AI analysis

Story summary

Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins has publicly denounced claims made by former teammate Usman Khawaja regarding the 2018 "Sandpapergate" ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town, South Africa. In an intense press conference lasting over 70 minutes in Sydney, Cummins labeled Khawaja's assertions as "100 per cent wrong" and "complete and utter nonsense." The controversy stems from Khawaja’s new autobiography, Sabr, which alleges that the entire Australian team, including Cummins, knew about the scheme to use sandpaper to rough up the ball and should have taken responsibility. Cummins countered that he was 24 at the time and played in a team with a "win at all cost mentality" and "too many silos," maintaining that he had no knowledge of the tampering. He further expressed a sense of betrayal, criticizing Khawaja for being "casual" and "flippant" with the lives and reputations of his friends and the sport of cricket. While Cummins stated he wanted to move on from the scandal, he also revealed that he had personally witnessed ball tampering during the Sheffield Shield competition, though he refused to provide specific details. Khawaja has since cancelled several media appearances following the public fallout but denied withdrawing from his book tour.

Written for “Sandpapergate scandal” on 2026-11-14, grounded in this article and the 16 other(s) covering the same event.

How they differ

6 outlets covered “Sandpapergate scandal”.

What each outlet says

One AI summary per outlet of its latest article on this story, written from that article alone and checked against it. Open the article for the outlet's own words.

Al JazeeraThis outlet13 Nov

Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins has denied allegations from former teammate Usman Khawaja linking him to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. This news report details how Cummins rejected claims made in Khawaja's new book regarding the use of sandpaper during that event. Cummins stated he feels betrayed by the accusations and maintains he had no involvement in the scandal.

Australia captain Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’ (this article)2 articles from Al Jazeera on this story
Sydney Morning Herald13 Nov

This analysis explores the ongoing fallout of the 2018 "sandpapergate" scandal, specifically focusing on the conflicting testimonies between retired opener Usman Khawaja and current Test captain Pat Cummins. During a 68-minute press conference in Sydney, Cummins explicitly rejected Khawaja’s claims of a team-wide conspiracy as "100 per cent wrong" and "utter nonsense." The author argues that the Australian public…

Two men, two diametrically opposite accounts. A choice must be made: Team Uzzie or Team Pat? →7 articles from Sydney Morning Herald on this story
BBC13 Nov

This analysis explores the renewed scrutiny surrounding the 2018 "sandpapergate" ball-tampering scandal following the release of a memoir by former player Usman Khawaja. Khawaja claims the entire Australian team knew about the scheme to tamper with the ball during a Test match against South Africa in Cape Town, a plot that originally saw three players receive lengthy bans. Australian captain Pat Cummins faced…

Australian cricket's sandpapergate is back - and it cuts deep in a 'nation of good sports' →2 articles from BBC on this story
Dawn14 Nov

This analysis piece reports on the rekindled controversy surrounding the 2018 "Sandpapergate" ball-tampering scandal following the release of Usman Khawaja's autobiography. Khawaja claims the entire team knew about the plot to alter the ball during the Cape Town Test against South Africa, a claim Australian captain Pat Cummins vehemently denied during a 70-minute press conference on Friday. While figures like Justin…

Stench of ‘Sandpapergate’ set to linger as scandal reignites →2 articles from Dawn on this story
ABC News (AU)13 Nov

Pat Cummins held a passionate, hour-long press conference where he accused Usman Khawaja of being "casual" with people's lives and reputations. Cummins dismissed Khawaja's claims about the 2018 ball-tampering incident as "complete and utter nonsense." He also acknowledged witnessing ball tampering during Sheffield Shield matches but refused to provide further details.

Cummins hits out at Khawaja in passionate hour-long press conference →
Daily Mail13 Nov

Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins addressed the media in Sydney on Friday to refute claims of a marital row after being photographed in a heated discussion with his wife, Rebecca, outside their home. Cummins clarified that his wife was actually frustrated with former teammate Usman Khawaja, whose autobiography released on Tuesday sparked a new controversy regarding the 2018 "Sandpapergate" ball-tampering…

Pat Cummins reveals his wife urged him to 'be honest' about Sandpapergate after Usman Khawaja's bombshell claims: 'People are hurting' →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 50% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
'Utter nonsense', Australia skipper Cummins denies involvement in sandpaper plot Same event
Dawn
Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 72/100
Pat Cummins reveals his wife urged him to 'be honest' about Sandpapergate after Usman Khawaja's bombshell claims: 'People are hurting' Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 45 claims Outlet record 70/100
Australia captain Pat Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal Same event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 41 claims Outlet record 60/100
Usman Khawaja fires back at claims he used Sandpapergate to sell more books: 'I don't need the money' Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss the 'sandpapergate' scandal and Usman Khawaja's claims, they describe different specific events: one is Khawaja's denial of using the scandal to sell books, and the other is Cummins' denial of involvement in the scandal.”
Marsh dodges Khawaja claims as Cummins vows to 'respond properly' Different event
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different moments in time and distinct responses to the ball-tampering scandal, with Marsh refusing to comment on the first day and Cummins responding later.”
Khawaja is 100 per cent wrong: Pat Cummins responds to sandpaper revelations Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 61/100
WATCH LIVE: Pat Cummins says Usman Khawaja’s claims about 2018 sandpaper scandal ’100 per cent wrong’ in press conference Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 61 claims Outlet record 61/100
'Wrong' and 'nonsense' - Cummins on Khawaja sandpaper claims Same event
BBC News
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
Cummins hopes his answers ended the sandpaper war. He is sadly mistaken Different event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article A discusses a series of cricket scores and matches, while Article B discusses Cummins denying involvement in a past scandal. They are discussing different topics and events.”
Australian cricket's sandpapergate is back - and it cuts deep in a 'nation of good sports' Same event
BBC News
Hedges 6 of 47 claims Outlet record 66/100

Story

Sandpapergate scandal
Sports · 17 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↑
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
2
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
50%
1 of 2 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
60/100
Al Jazeera's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
17
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Al Jazeera · 5661 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

No reporter is named on this article.

Topics

Australia

Subjects

Australia GPE · 2× Cummins PERSON · 2× Khawaja PERSON · 1× Pat Cummins PERSON · 1× Usman Khawaja PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Cummins said he feels betrayed after Khawaja made the allegations in a new book.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-14
2026-11-14 · Al Jazeera
Australia captain Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’ · mixed framing

Claims (2 extracted, 1 hedged)

Australia captain Cummins denies involvement in ‘Sandpapergate’ Australia cricket captain Pat Cummins has rejected claims by ex-teammate Usman Khawaja linking him to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, denying any involvement in the use of sandpaper. uncertain
Cummins → deny → sandpaper
Cummins said he feels betrayed after Khawaja made the allegations in a new book. asserted
Khawaja → say → book
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