David Warner has accused Australian Test captain Pat Cummins of throwing Usman Khawaja ‘under the bus’ over Sandpapergate, as he linked his wife Candice’s miscarriage in the aftermath of the ball-tampering scandal.
Earlier on Friday, Cummins described Khawaja’s claims that the whole Australian team knew about the sandpaper plot in South Africa in 2018 as ‘complete and utter nonsense’, and accused his former teammate of being ‘casual with lives and reputations’.
In a forthright and hard-hitting press conference in Sydney lasting well over an hour, Cummins insisted there had been no team meeting to discuss the question of collective responsibility, and no ‘masterplan around using illegal methods’
Warner addressed Cummins’ claims while commentating for Fox Cricket before Australia‘s one day international match against England at Perth‘s Optus Stadium on Friday as he leapt to the defence of his childhood friend Khawaja.
‘Pat Cummins was very well prepared this morning and I still stick by what Uzzie’s written in that book; it’s the truth,’ he said.
‘I support him (and) I actually feel for him at the moment.
‘I actually feel that the captain today threw Uzzie under the bus and I’m very very disappointed.’
David Warner accused Australian Test captain Pat Cummins of throwing Usman Khawaja ‘under the bus’ on Friday while commentating for Fox Cricket
David Warner and his wife Candice lost their unborn child a week after they returned home followed the ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal in South Africa
Warner, former captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft copped lengthy bans from Cricket Australia over their involvement the scandal.
‘All three of us have paid a big price – I hadn’t spoken about it in eight years, but at the end of the day we have to live with these consequences daily, and we’ve been served a life punishment.
‘When other people talk about (being affected) by it, there’s nothing worse than for me, Steve (Smith) and Cameron (Bancroft) who have to walk out there every single day and cop abuse.
‘Yes we accepted it, but at the end of the day my wife and I copped the greatest price; we lost a baby during that time, and that’s why it really hurts me the most until the truth is accepted.’
Warner confirmed that he had spoken to both Khawaja and Cameron Bancroft, confirming that both were ‘quite upset’ by what had transpired.
‘In the eight years (since) not one of those people in that changeroom have spoken to us about it …the mate ship that we talk about, the honesty that you have with each other, there’s been no contact or questions about it.
‘We’re all adults and we’re open to conversation; I’ve played golf with Pat Cummins a couple of times, I’ve been in changerooms and we’ve won a couple of world cups, and its just never been questioned.
‘At the end of the day Pat’s not going to agree with me (and) I’m not going to agree with him; he’s obviously spoken about what he thinks about Uzzie and his book, but I stand by Uzzie’s comments.’
Warner’s wife Candice previously revealed the couple suffered a miscarriage a week after they returned home to Sydney from South Africa following the scandal.
‘I woke up feeling pretty ordinary. I called Dave to the bathroom and told him I was bleeding. We knew I was miscarrying and we held one another and cried,’ she told Nine’s Now to Love at the time.
‘The miscarriage was a tragic consequence, a heartbreaking end to a horror tour. Like so many families who’ve experienced a miscarriage, it’s just really sad. The entire ordeal from the public humiliations to the ball tampering, it had taken its toll and, from that moment, we decided that no sport, nothing will ever impact our lives like that again.’
‘At the time, I felt like I’d let us down – that my body had let us down – but I’ve come a long way since then. I’m a very spiritual person and I truly believe it wasn’t their time to be with us. Despite our terrible loss, I do know without any doubt that my calling in life is to be a mum.’
More to come
