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Australia's Sayers 'took sandpaper from field' & rejects Cummins' claims

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Cite

Henry, M. (2026, November 15). Australia's Sayers 'took sandpaper from field' & rejects Cummins' claims. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/c9ly4jm8djy7o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

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BBC News · collected 2026-11-15 · by Matthew Henry

Quick Summary

Former Australian cricket player Chadd Sayers has revealed that he helped remove sandpaper from the field during a match before the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal in 2018. Sayers, who was the 12th man during the second Test in Gqeberha, supports Usman Khawaja’s claims that the entire team was aware of the plan to use sandpaper, contradicting Pat Cummins' denial. Sayers also mentioned a significant meeting in the dressing room where players discussed taking collective responsibility for the incident.
Written by AI on 2026-11-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).
See how they differ ↓

AI analysis

Story summary

Former Australian Test bowler Chadd Sayers has revealed that the entire Australian cricket team was aware of the ball-tampering plot during their 2018 tour of South Africa, contradicting the previous official narrative. Sayers, who was present during the second Test in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) and the fourth Test in Johannesburg but did not play in the controversial third Test in Cape Town, stated that he personally disposed of sandpaper on the field during a drinks break before the Cape Town incident. This admission challenges Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation findings, which concluded that only Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft knew about the plot. Sayers's claims align with Usman Khawaja's recent assertions in his autobiography and could put further pressure on current captain Pat Cummins, who has denied any prior knowledge of the scheme.

Written for “Sandpapergate Controversy Deepens” on 2026-11-15, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

How they differ

3 outlets covered “Sandpapergate Controversy Deepens”.

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.

BBCThis outlet15 Nov

Former Australian cricket player Chadd Sayers has revealed that he helped remove sandpaper from the field during a match before the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal in 2018. Sayers, who was the 12th man during the second Test in Gqeberha, supports Usman Khawaja’s claims that the entire team was aware of the plan to use sandpaper, contradicting Pat Cummins' denial. Sayers also mentioned a significant meeting in the…

Australia's Sayers 'took sandpaper from field' & rejects Cummins' claims (this article)
Dawn15 Nov

Former Australian Test bowler Chadd Sayers has claimed that everyone on the team was aware of the ball-tampering incident involving sandpaper during the 2018 South Africa tour. Sayers, who was part of the tour but did not play in the Cape Town Test where the incident occurred, told SEN radio that discussions took place in the change rooms about using the ball illegally. He also mentioned that he was the player who…

Sandpapergate controversy deepens as ex-Australia bowler Chadd Sayers also claims ‘everyone knew’ →2 articles from Dawn on this story
Sydney Morning Herald15 Nov

Former Australian cricketer Chadd Sayers has revealed that the entire Australian cricket team was aware of and participated in ball tampering using sandpaper during the 2018 series against South Africa, specifically in the Port Elizabeth Test, which occurred before the scandal broke in Cape Town. Sayers, who did not play in the Port Elizabeth match, recalls disposing of sandpaper given to him during a break in the…

‘Everyone knew’: Fast bowler reveals sandpaper was used in earlier Test →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Dawn
Leans right Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 72/100
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 18 claims Outlet record 72/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 3 of 51 claims Outlet record 61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 8 of 36 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different events related to the same broader scandal, with Article A focusing on the press conference advice and Article B on the removal of sandpaper from a previous match.”
Dawn
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal and involve different individuals discussing their recollections.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 36 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the sandpaper scandal in cricket, with Article A focusing on the feud between Warner and Lehmann and Article B focusing on Sayers' account of the incident in Gqeberha.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different testimonies regarding the 2018 sandpaper scandal in cricket, but they describe separate statements made by different individuals at different times.”
Dawn
Hedges 3 of 28 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss different phases of the Sandpapergate scandal, with Article A focusing on Cummins' press conference and Khawaja's autobiography release, while Article B focuses on Sayers' statements about the event involving sandpaper in a previous match.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 27 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different instances of ball tampering in the context of the 2018 Australian cricket team scandal, with one focusing on Khawaja's claims and Turnbull's reaction and the other on Sayers' comments about taking sandpaper off the field before the Cape Town incident.”
Dawn
Hedges 1 of 18 claims Outlet record 72/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal involving different individuals and their statements, rather than a single specific incident.”

Story

Sandpapergate Controversy Deepens
Sports · 4 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
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
3 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 5897 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Matthew Henry
22 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction
- Published Manager Thomas Tuchel will remind England's players of Uefa's anti-racism protocols before Sunday's Nations League fixture against Spain in Madrid.
CA has said it will not reopen its investigation.
From 65-8, Will Jacks offered brief resistance with 25 and Gus Atkinson hit the innings' only six for 29 not out.
2026-11-13 · assertive framing · England thrashed by Australia in first ODI
- Published Mitchell Marsh persistently refused to speak about Australia's ball-tampering saga at a news conference on Thursday but captain Pat Cummins said he will "respond properly" later.
Of course, Cummins has plenty of credit in the bank but questions are bound to be raised given his age. Were the 33-year-old not captain, it may have been him under pressure from Scott Boland to play in the third Test.
After opener Matt Renshaw was unfortunate to be caught down the leg side second ball, Marnus Labuschagne could not survive the remainder of the first over as he was dismissed shouldering arms.
History a good omen for Australia Australia's target is such that should they chase it on day five, it would be the second-highest fourth-innings chase in the 62 previous Tests on this famous ground.
Speaking at length on the Tailenders podcast for the first time since being told he will not have his Lancashire contract renewed, the 44-year-old said the decision made him question whether there is "something fundamentally wrong with me as a person".
This time it was not England helping their opponents, although they will have taken note with a tour of South Africa to come this winter.
2026-10-29 · assertive framing · Careless dismissals give Australia route to series win
"That will never be broken," said former Australia quick Jason Gillespie on ABC.
Also by Matthew Henry
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Matthew Henry →

Topics

Australia Cape Town Cape Town Test Gqeberha South Africa

Subjects

Australia GPE · 5× Sayers PERSON · 5× Khawaja PERSON · 4× Cummins PERSON · 3× Bancroft PERSON · 2× Cape Town GPE · 2× Chadd Sayers PERSON · 1× Pat Cummins' PERSON · 1× South Africa GPE · 1× Usman Khawaja's PERSON · 1×

Narrative

"After the occurrence in Cape Town, we all sat in the changing rooms after that day's play and, probably for 60 to 90 minutes, we talked about what had happened and I guess where to next." Sayers first backed Khawaja's recollections last week, saying "everything" in the former opener's book was "accurate".
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-15

Claims (13 extracted, 3 hedged)

- Published Former Australia bowler Chadd Sayers says he helped take sandpaper off the ground in the match before the infamous Cape Town Test and has backed Usman Khawaja's recollection over Pat Cummins' - saying he believes "everyone knew" about the plan to ball tamper. asserted
everyone → publish → tamper
Sayers, 39, was 12th man during the second Test of the 2018 series against South Africa in Gqeberha, previously known as Port Elizabeth, and backed the claim from Khawaja's book that sandpaper was also used there. "It was given to me to take off," Sayers said on SEN Radio. uncertain
Sayers → know → Radio
"That wasn't planned or anything. asserted
That → plan → ?
Sayers also said there was a "60 to 90-minute" meeting in the Australia dressing room after Bancroft had been caught using sandpaper in Cape Town, in which players discussed taking collective responsibility - something Khawaja claims but Cummins said he did not remember in his extraordinary news conference on Friday. uncertain
he → say → Friday
"I am comfortable sitting here that I believe everyone in that side knew what was going on and what was being used," said Sayers, whose one Test was the final match of that series. asserted
Test → sit → series
"It [sandpaper] was used in two Test matches and there were discussions in the changing rooms. asserted
It → use → rooms
"I'm not taking sides, it's just my recollection of what took place. asserted
what → take → place
"After the occurrence in Cape Town, we all sat in the changing rooms after that day's play and, probably for 60 to 90 minutes, we talked about what had happened and I guess where to next." Sayers first backed Khawaja's recollections last week, saying "everything" in the former opener's book was "accurate". asserted
everything → sit → book
In an episode which has dominated headlines in Australia and elsewhere, Khawaja said the entire Australia team knew about the plan to use sandpaper to tamper with the ball and should have taken responsibility. asserted
team → dominate → responsibility
Cummins, a bowler in that squad and now Australia captain, emphatically rejected the claims by calling them "100% wrong" and "utter nonsense". uncertain
Cummins → reject → them
The bowlers - Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon - have always claimed they did not know. asserted
they → claim → ?
David Warner accused Cricket Australia of a "cover-up" on Saturday, suggesting Hazlewood, Starc and Lyon had not been interviewed as part of the governing body's investigation. asserted
Hazlewood → accuse → investigation
Warner, Bancroft and then captain Steve Smith served lengthy bans for their role in the scandal. asserted
Warner → serve → scandal
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