Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Pat Cummins (left) and Usman Khawaja (right) have given conflicting accounts of the sandpaper scandal from 2018
ByMatthew HenryBBC Sport journalist- Published27 minutes ago
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.
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.
"That wasn't planned or anything. It was a wicket or drinks break after tea."
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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.
"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.
"It [sandpaper] was used in two Test matches and there were discussions in the changing rooms.
"I'm not taking sides, it's just my recollection of what took 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."
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Sayers took two wickets in the fourth Test in Johannesburg - the Test after Australia's use of sandpaper to aid reverse swing had been uncovered
Sayers first backed Khawaja's recollections last week, saying "everything" in the former opener's book was "accurate".
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.
Cummins, a bowler in that squad and now Australia captain, emphatically rejected the claims by calling them "100% wrong" and "utter nonsense".
The bowlers - Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon - have always claimed they did not know.
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.
Warner, Bancroft and then captain Steve Smith served lengthy bans for their role in the scandal.
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- Published28 August
