Australian captain Pat Cummins wants to draw a line under “Sandpapergate” and move on, but the stench of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal is set to linger after a week of sensational accusations and denials.
asserted
stench → want → accusations
Cummins held an intense 70-minute press conference on Friday and answered every question thrown at him after former teammate Usman Khawaja reopened old wounds with the release of his explosive autobiography.
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Khawaja → hold → autobiography
In the book, he claimed the whole team, including Cummins, knew about the plot to alter the ball with sandpaper during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
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team → claim → Africa
Only David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were held responsible by Cricket Australia for the incident that shattered the nation’s reputation, with all three sent home in disgrace and banned.
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three → hold → disgrace
Cummins repeated multiple times that he was not aware of the plan, insisting Khawaja’s version of events was “100 per cent wrong”.
“I don’t want to talk about this again after today… because at some point we’ve got to move on,” he added.
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he → repeat → point
His plea drew support from Justin Langer, who took over as head coach when Darren Lehmann quit in the wake of the scandal.
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Lehmann → draw → scandal
“Hopefully, that will put some sort of line in the sand because we have to move on,” Langer told SEN radio.
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Langer → put → radio
“There are too many people being hurt in Australian cricket… and that includes the Australian public.
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that → be → public
“When I talk about Australian cricket, it’s about the public, it’s about the fans, it’s about the players, it’s about everyone who’s involved: the past players, the present players, future players.
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who → talk → everyone
We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere.”
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We → have → sand
Another former Test great, Greg Chappell, also urged an end to the in-fighting.
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great → urge → fighting
“We don’t want to see Australian cricket eating itself and having a little spat within the family,” he told reporters.
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he → want → reporters
“Hopefully Pat’s put a bit of a line under it and we can start getting on with the summer of cricket.
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we → put → cricket
While calls to put the issue to bed mount, it could blow up again with several key players yet to comment, notably Smith and Bancroft, while Khawaja has media commitments to sell his book.
uncertain
Khawaja → put → book
Warner has strongly backed close friend Khawaja’s new version of events, making clear he will not rest “until the truth is out there”.
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truth → back → events
He ratcheted up the pressure on Saturday, claiming Cricket Australia’s investigation “stinks of a cover-up”.
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investigation → ratchet → up
Pick your side
“The biggest error of the Cummins Q and A was his belief that his appearance would allow everyone to draw a line under the affair and move on,” national broadcaster ABC said in an analysis.
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ABC → pick → analysis
“That’s not happening.
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That → happen → ?
We’re dealing with hurt feelings here, fractured relationships and bruised egos and nebulous concepts of truth and justice.
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We → deal → truth
“You better pick your side, if you haven’t already, because this is never going away.”
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this → pick → side
Whether what really happened is ever properly established remains to be seen, with Cricket Australia adamant it will not be reopening its investigation.
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it → happen → investigation
But the bonds of a 15-year friendship between Cummins, Khawaja and Warner have splintered.
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bonds → splinter → Cummins
Cummins accused Khawaja of being “flippant and casual” by dropping his bombshell claims eight years after the fact, suggesting some of them were “probably defamatory”.
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some → accuse → them
That prompted Warner to blast Cummins for throwing Khawaja “under the bus” and The Australian newspaper to declare that “a generation of Australian players is officially at war”.
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generation → prompt → war
Cummins insists unity within the current Australian team, which includes Smith, remains strong despite the week’s firestorm as they prepare for a home Test series against New Zealand in December-January.
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they → insist → January
He said he had spoken to Smith, who lost the captaincy and was banned for a year over “Sandpapergate”, and suggested the veteran batsman was keen not to regurgitate the past.
“I have spoken to Smithy.
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I → say → Smithy
Without breaking confidence, he is done with this; he wants to move on,” said Cummins.
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Cummins → break → this
If standing up today and answering all your questions helps everyone move on, then maybe it’s a good thing.”
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it → stand → questions
The Aporia
