Usman Khawaja bunkers down as book tour ‘adjusted’ amid ball-tampering claims

Usman Khawaja’s promotional book tour has been subject to “adjustments” after the former Australia Test batter was grilled about certain claims on the ABC’s 7.30 Report.Khawaja pulled out of some radio and television spots on Wednesday, with his publisher Penguin saying that while the tour had not been cancelled entirely, changes had been made to his schedule this week.It follows an uncomfortable interview with veteran journalist Sarah Ferguson on the national broadcaster’s current affairs show on Tuesday night.“The book tour is 100[%] still going ahead, we’ve just had to make some adjustments this week, but no major cancellation of the tour at all,” a Penguin statement to the ABC read.On Tuesday night’s broadcast, Ferguson repeatedly pressed Khawaja for answers about whether players other than those sanctioned – Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft – knew about Australian ball tampering during the 2018 tour of South Africa.Khawaja refused to elaborate on claims made in his book Sabr, which was published on Tuesday, that “all” members of the team were aware of the plot to doctor the ball using sandpaper.Asked by Ferguson to confirm whether he was claiming that members of the bowling group – Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon – had been “involved in conversations about ball tampering”, Khawaja was evasive.“I’m just not going to entertain that,” Khawaja said. “And I say that for one reason: I wrote [the details] in my book because it was a safe space for me to write.“It took a long time to, first, write the chapter … and go over it and work out a way that it was as balanced as possible.”Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith were sanctioned for ball tampering against South Africa in March 2018. Composite: Getty ImagesFerguson also pressed Khawaja on whether current Test captain Cummins had prior knowledge that “sandpaper was being used to change the surface of the ball”. But again, the former opener refused to elaborate.“I’m not going to answer that. I’ve written what I’ve written in my book,” he said. “I’ve come out and stood by those guys [Warner, Smith and Bancroft] and told my account of what I saw.“I’ve been very clear … there are instances when I talk about ‘us’ and ‘them’, but I’ve been very clear in not naming names and staying out of it. I’m not going to start now.“This has never been a witch hunt for me.“You’ve got to remember [that] Pat Cummins is a good friend of mine. Mitchell Starc, a lot of these guys [are and] other players in the team [are too].skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“I’m not here to go on a witch hunt. All I’ve ever wanted is for us to take accountability as a team.”The bowling group issued a statement in 2021, denying knowledge of the use of sandpaper. “We did not know a foreign substance was taken onto the field to alter the condition of the ball until we saw the images on the big screen at Newlands,” the statement read.Ferguson asked Khawaja about comments made by Warner, who said his former teammate’s account was “100% accurate”.“Dave Warner has come out and backed your account of the ball tampering scandal in South Africa,” Ferguson said. “In doing so, he said, ‘lies will eventually get out’. What lies is he talking about?”Khawaja replied that he was “not going to speak on behalf of Davey”.“I’ve tried my best to tell my story in an open and safe environment,” he said. “There’s no easy way to do it, but I mean, I’m not here to inflame the situation any more. I was here to tell my truth, what I saw, what I felt, and to stick with those three guys [Warner, Smith and Bancroft] that were made out to be the only people who have taken it. I wanted that to be shown.”Cricket Australia said it would not reopen its initial investigation into the scandal as there was “no compelling reason” to, while Starc broke his silence on Tuesday to reaffirm his stance that he and other team members had no knowledge of the sandpaper plan.