⚖️ Sandpapergate: David Warner, Smith banned 12 months, Bancroft 9
Warner calls the 2018 probe “rushed and botched”; Cricket Australia says it is comfortable with its findings. 🗣️
By MrMuscles, sports desk · Desk editor Gustavs Ērkšķis-Kreicbergs · · 5 min read
ON RECORDPhoto: Dave Morton · Public domainWhat we know
- Warner posted an Instagram video on Monday backing Usman Khawaja's account, saying “It's 100% accurate what you've said,” and called Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation “rushed and botched,” AP reports.
- Cricket Australia banned Smith and Warner for 12 months and Bancroft for 9 months from all international and domestic cricket on 28 March 2018, after finding the three were the only players with prior knowledge.
- Cricket Australia said Warner would not be considered for team leadership positions in the future; Smith and Bancroft had to wait at least 12 months after their bans ended.
- Magellan terminated its three-year naming-rights deal with Cricket Australia, signed in August 2017, and LG, Asics, Sanitarium and Commonwealth Bank cut personal ties to the players, per the Guardian and Adelaide Advertiser.
- Cricket Australia has defended its original investigation and says it remains comfortable with its findings, Briefly News reports.
David Warner posted a video on Instagram on Monday backing Usman Khawaja's account of Sandpapergate. “It's 100% accurate what you've said,” Warner said, per AP. He also called Cricket Australia's 2018 investigation “rushed and botched.” Cricket Australia has defended that investigation and says it remains comfortable with its findings, Briefly News reports.
Khawaja's claim, from his memoir Sabr as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, is that the whole team knew and that sandpaper was first discussed and used a Test earlier, in Port Elizabeth. He says he was never interviewed. In 2021, bowlers Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon put out a statement denying they knew of a foreign substance being used on the ball. Those are the claims. Here is what the 2018 paperwork actually decided.
The timeline
Cape Town: the admission and the ICC penalties
Cameron Bancroft was shown on television rubbing the ball with a foreign object and then hiding it in his trousers, BBC Sport reported. After play, Steve Smith said the team's “leadership group” had talked about it and called it a “big mistake.” The ICC suspended Smith for one Test and fined him 100% of his match fee, and fined Bancroft 75% with three demerit points.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)By the numbers
- 8y 8mfrom first to latest entry on record
- 17receipts behind this story
Smith and Warner step aside
On 25 March 2018 Cricket Australia said Smith and Warner had agreed to stand down as captain and vice-captain for the rest of the Test. The board endorsed Tim Paine as acting captain. Both men took the field under him.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Sent home, replacements called up
CEO James Sutherland said the preliminary finding was that prior knowledge was limited to Smith, Warner and Bancroft. He said no other players or support staff knew, including coach Darren Lehmann. The three were charged under article 2.3.5 of the Code of Conduct, suspended for the fourth Test and flown home. Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns and Glenn Maxwell were called up.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)The bans: 12, 12 and 9 months
After the board met on 28 March 2018, Cricket Australia offered each player a suspension from all international and domestic cricket: 12 months each for Smith and Warner, 9 months for Bancroft. Its charges said Warner developed the plan, instructed a junior player to carry it out using sandpaper and demonstrated how. It said Smith knew of the plan, directed that evidence be concealed and made misleading public comments. Bancroft was charged with carrying out the instructions and concealing the evidence. All three were told to do 100 hours of voluntary community cricket service.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)The leadership restrictions
Cricket Australia said Warner would not be considered for team leadership positions in the future. Smith and Bancroft would not be considered until at least 12 months after their suspensions ended, conditional on acceptance by fans and the public, form and authority among the playing group. The Sydney Morning Herald reports Smith was told he could not captain Australia again for at least two years.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)IPL contracts and personal sponsors
India's cricket board barred Smith and Warner from IPL 2018, per Hindustan Times. The Guardian reported each had been on $2.4m with their franchises, that Smith was expected to lose over $5m and Warner more than $4m. LG did not renew with Warner, Asics ended its deals with Warner and Bancroft, and Sanitarium and Commonwealth Bank dropped Smith.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Magellan walks away from the board
Magellan Financial Group ended its three-year naming-rights partnership with Cricket Australia, signed in August 2017, saying the events were “so inconsistent with our values.” The Adelaide Advertiser, citing the Daily Telegraph, reported the deal was worth $24 million and the termination cost Australia around $20 million; those figures are the paper's report. Reuters reported Qantas, Sanitarium, Lion and others were assessing their ties, and that Cricket Australia earned A$338.4 million in media, sponsorship and spectator fees in the year to 30 June 2017.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Accepted sanctions, then a culture review
On 5 April 2018 Cricket Australia said Smith, Bancroft and Warner had accepted the charges and sanctions, so no hearings were required. The next day chairman David Peever confirmed an independent review of cultural, organisational and governance issues, with former Test batsman Rick McCosker involved in a player-driven charter process.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)Warner's leadership ban is lifted
In October 2024 Cricket Australia's Conduct Commission review panel unanimously lifted Warner's lifetime leadership ban, ESPN reported, after a 2022 code change. The panel cited his “respectful and contrite tone.” Warner told it he had “let every single person down” in 2018. ESPN notes Smith had by then captained Australia's Test and ODI teams again.
See the receipt (opens in a new tab)| Player | Ban from all international and domestic cricket | Leadership restriction |
|---|---|---|
| David Warner | 12 months | Not to be considered for team leadership positions in the future |
| Steve Smith | 12 months | Not until a minimum of 12 months after the ban ends |
| Cameron Bancroft | 9 months | Not until a minimum of 12 months after the ban ends |
"Regrettably, these recent events are so inconsistent with our values that we are left with no option but to terminate our ongoing partnership with Cricket Australia."
Hamish Douglass, Magellan co-founder and CEO, in a March 2018 statement reported by Proactive Investors
Now the record meets the rematch. Warner wrote on Monday that “asking questions shouldn't be mistaken for holding grudges.” Khawaja's version rests on his own memoir and interview. The 2018 findings, which all three players accepted, say prior knowledge was confined to three players. MrMuscles notes that both statements cannot be fully right, and only one of them has a paper trail from 2018.
Quick quiz · 3 questions
Earlier on file: Warner backs Khawaja on Sandpapergate, calls CA probe botched
The David Warner file
- Reported
Warner said in an Instagram video that Khawaja's account was “100% accurate” and called the 2018 investigation “rushed and botched.” This story
- Reported
Warner said in an Instagram video Khawaja's account is 100% accurate and called CA's probe rushed and botched, per AP. Warner backs Khawaja on Sandpapergate, calls CA probe botched
- Ruled
CA Conduct Commission review lifted Warner's lifetime leadership ban, per ESPN. Warner backs Khawaja on Sandpapergate, calls CA probe botched
- Ruled
Cricket Australia's Conduct Commission review panel lifted Warner's leadership ban, ESPN reported. This story
- Admitted
Cricket Australia said Smith, Bancroft and Warner accepted the charges and sanctions, so no hearings were required. This story
- Admitted
Warner told CA he fully accepted the sanctions imposed on him, per cricket.com.au. Warner backs Khawaja on Sandpapergate, calls CA probe botched
- Ruled
Cricket Australia suspended Warner for 12 months from all international and domestic cricket and barred him from future team leadership. This story
On file: The David Warner file · The Cameron Bancroft file · The Cricket Australia file · The Steve Smith file
The Ledger
On the record
- Cricket Australia banned Smith and Warner for 12 months and Bancroft for 9; all three accepted the charges and sanctions, and Magellan ended its deal citing the scandal.
Still rumour
- Khawaja's claim that the whole team knew rests on his memoir and interview, and Cricket Australia says it stands by its findings.
- Whether Cricket Australia will review the 2018 investigation again is not confirmed in the documents read.
That's the record. The rest is rumour. - MrMuscles
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