Cummins denies involvement in 2018 sandpaper scandal and rejects Khawaja's book claims
Photo: The GuardianAustralia Test captain Pat Cummins has rejected claims by former teammate Usman Khawaja that linked him to the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, denying any involvement in the use of sandpaper. Cummins said he felt betrayed by allegations Khawaja made in a new book, and he described the claim that he knew about the tampering as nonsense. At a press conference lasting one hour and eight minutes, he answered questions about the 2018 episode and said the endemic cheating Khawaja described did not match his own experience of the team.
The right-leaning Washington Times led with Cummins's rebuttal, centering its report on Khawaja's claim that Cummins knew about the sandpaper use and on Cummins calling it nonsense. Its excerpt contains no detail from the press conference. The left-leaning Guardian, in a column by Geoff Lemon, led instead with the press conference and Cummins's specific rejection of the wider cheating claims, and noted that Cummins was a junior player in 2018. Its headline says Cummins stands firm and leaves Australian cricket where it started, and it argues that media would portray the matter as a feud between friends, which it calls unfair. It also says Khawaja has not explicitly implicated any player beyond the three punished in 2018. Both sides report Cummins's denial and the book as the source. The right stresses his rejection of knowledge, while the left stresses the press conference and the friendship. The alternative Al Jazeera report, which also covers the denial, focuses on the betrayal Cummins said he felt.
How the sides differ Right sources lead with Cummins calling the claim nonsense; left sources stress the friendship and his lengthy press conference.
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The Guardian, in a Geoff Lemon column, leads with Cummins's hour-long press conference and his firm rejection of the wider cheating claims. It frames the dispute as a strained friendship and argues that media portrayals of a war between the two players are unfair.
Al Jazeera headlines the denial under the term 'Sandpapergate' and reports that Cummins said he feels betrayed by Khawaja's book allegations. It otherwise centers on the denial of any involvement in using sandpaper.
The Washington Times leads with Cummins calling Khawaja's claim that he knew about the sandpaper tampering 'utter nonsense.' Its headline and excerpt focus on that rebuttal of knowledge rather than on the wider context.