Cameron Bancroft Focuses on Performance Amid Khawaja's Ball-Tampering Revelations

Cameron Bancroft is determined to focus on his cricket performance as new allegations from Usman Khawaja's autobiography bring the 2018 ball-tampering scandal back into the spotlight. Coach Beau Casson supports Bancroft's desire to move on from the controversy. The revelations in Khawaja's book detail discussions about sandpaper use during a Test match, raising questions about Bancroft's involvement. While Smith and Warner have continued their international careers, Bancroft's path has been different, with limited appearances since the scandal. Will he respond to Khawaja's claims? Read on for more insights.

By Narendra Chaudhary Nov 8, 2026, 13:51 IST

Bancroft's Response to Khawaja's Claims

Melbourne, Australia - November 8: Beau Casson, the coach of Western Australia, has stated that Cameron Bancroft is eager to move past the controversies and let his performance on the field speak for itself. This comes in light of new allegations made by former Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja regarding the infamous 2018 ball-tampering scandal, commonly referred to as the Sandpaper incident, as reported by a leading sports news outlet.

Khawaja has reignited discussions surrounding the scandal with revelations from his upcoming autobiography, Sabr, set to be released on Tuesday. The book reportedly contains several claims about Bancroft, who faced a nine-month suspension from both international and domestic cricket due to his involvement in the incident.

Following a Cricket Australia investigation, only Bancroft, along with former captain Steven Smith and David Warner, faced sanctions.

According to reports from Nine newspapers, Khawaja's book alleges that discussions about using sandpaper occurred during the second Test at Gqeberha, prior to the notorious Cape Town Test.

Khawaja also mentioned that Bancroft had offered to use sandpaper during the first innings of the Gqeberha Test, where the ball exhibited significant swing. In excerpts shared by another media outlet, Khawaja described how the ball was retrieved near the boundary, where umpires had placed it at the start of a session.

"We all knew that the umpire would drop the ball on the boundary as we went out onto the field," Khawaja wrote, as cited by the sports news outlet.

He continued, "Immediately, Bull [Warner] said, 'Well, I can’t do it – they’re all over me.' I was never going to do it, nor did I think anyone else would. So I just laughed. Then, Cameron Bancroft, who was only six games into his Test career and perhaps wanting to fit in, said, 'I’ll do it.'"

"Because all teams were tampering with the ball – in Shield cricket and world cricket too – for Bangers [Bancroft], it wasn’t even that big a deal. Some of the boys asked, 'You sure?' Bangers replied, 'Yeah, no worries – it’ll be easy,'" he added.

In response to the renewed allegations, coach Beau Casson emphasized that Bancroft is focused on moving forward and improving his batting performance. Despite the nine-month ban stemming from the 2018 incident, Bancroft has found himself back in the spotlight due to Khawaja's recent claims.

"The situation is a long time ago. I think he’s keen to move on and let his bat do the talking," Casson remarked to reporters after the match, as quoted by the sports news outlet. "You can’t control everything. The way he’s handled it over the past couple of weeks and throughout the years speaks volumes about his professionalism."

It remains uncertain if Bancroft will address Khawaja's latest allegations. While Smith and Warner continued their international careers post the Sandpaper Gate incident, Bancroft has largely been absent from the international scene. He made a brief return during the 2019 Ashes series, playing in two matches, but has not represented Australia since.