Mitchell Starc has flatly refused to budge on his account of the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal, firing back after David Warner endorsed explosive claims that Australia's wider dressing room knew about the illicit operation.
The ghost of Sandpapergate refuses to stay buried. Speaking at the launch of Australia's domestic summer, Starc doubled down on the joint defence issued alongside Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon in 2021. The four front-line bowlers have long maintained they only discovered Cameron Bancroft carried sandpaper when Newlands broadcast the footage on the stadium's giant screens.
"Obviously there are differing opinions of eight years ago," Starc said. "We were heavily grilled through the process at the time and since. I won't speak on behalf of the bowlers, but, from where I stand, my opinion hasn't changed, and my recollection hasn't changed from what we said in 2021."
Panick had long subsided, but the controversy reignited when Usman Khawaja published his autobiography, Sabr. In it, the veteran opener claimed knowledge of the plot extended well beyond the trio punished by the board—Steve Smith, Warner, and Bancroft—arguing the entire squad and coaching unit should have accepted collective responsibility. Khawaja also alleged that sandpaper was introduced during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha.
Warner poured fuel on the smouldering dispute on Monday, posting a public video declaring Khawaja’s revelations "100% accurate." The former vice-captain, slapped with a 12-month ban alongside Smith in 2018, openly slammed the integrity of the governing body's probe.
"Uzzie was sitting next to Cameron Bancroft; Uzzie was not interviewed," Warner said. "How is that a thorough investigation? It baffles me." Warner added that the lingering fallout forced him to address the media storm with his 12-year-old daughter, Ivy, telling her that "lies will eventually get out."
Yet the governing body has slammed the door on any fresh probe. Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg confirmed the administration would not revisit the Cape Town investigation, keeping the original findings intact. Starc, meanwhile, dismissed suggestions that sandpaper had featured in Port Elizabeth, leaving the accusers to stand on their own assertions as Australia turns its focus toward the upcoming home international fixtures.