More than once: Khawaja reveals sandpaper bombshell

Fresh details have emerged on Australia's infamous Sandpapergate, as former Test opener Usman Khawaja continues to lift the lid on the incident eight years on.

As revealed within Khawaja's soon-to-release autobiography, the third Test against South Africa in 2018 wasn't the only match in which the Aussies tampered with the ball - also admitting to use of sandpaper in the second Test.

Incredibly, Khawaja revealed that every player within the Test setup knew of the plan.

This, of course, goes wildly against public knowledge, with a number of players within the 2018 team staunchly denying any knowledge of the incident for years following.

One excerpt from Khawaja's book claims that the opener urged the entire team to take collective responsibility rather than allowing captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and supposed scapegoat Cameron Bancroft to take all the heat.

That idea was sternly rejected by two unnamed members of the team.

“This was the most disappointing thing for me,” Khawaja wrote.

“I knew who those two guys were and it was ludicrous out of everyone it was them. It showed me their true colours though.

“When the going got tough all they cared about was themselves. But I was not going to stop fighting this cause.”

Khawaja has admitted to knowledge of the plan on numerous occasions, despite ongoing denial from a number of senior players.

“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” Khawaja told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“In an ideal world, I don’t want to do this … I don’t want to be the one who comes out and talks about the truth. The issue is that I genuinely thought after eight years the truth would have been out by now.

“Maybe I thought Davey (Warner) would have exposed it, or someone else would have talked about it more. I just didn’t think it was going to come down to this. But the longer it’s gone on for, and right from the very start, I’ve been on the train of collectively taking it.”

Smith's Cape Town PTSD

There is no doubt that Australia star Steve Smith was impacted by post traumatic stress of Sandpapergate at the recent test in Cape Town, according to Robert Craddock.

Eight years on from the ball tampering scandal that rocked the cricket world, Smith and his teammates returned to the scene of the crime for the decisive Test against the Proteas last week.

With victory on the line, it came as something of a shock even to his teammates that Smith withdrew from the final Test moments before the toss citing neck issues.

The late decision is understood to have left his teammates frustrated and angry – feelings which seem to be lingering.

“I don’t like it at all,” Craddock told SENQ Breakfast when asked about the late withdrawal. “Smith has missed three Tests through injury and played more than 120.

“Cummins' comments at the toss etc, it was the story of the Test, the whispers behind the scene.

“There is no doubt that the post traumatic stress of going back to Cape Town where Sandpapergate was there, everyone said do not underestimate that.

“Smith was not feeling well and he had a sore neck, it was debilitating, but the stress of going back to Cape Town weighed on him.”

What remains unclear is just how long Smith will continue for the national side.

He has previously questioned whether the 2027 Ashes in England would be feasible and, given his latest setback as well as unrest in the dressing room, question marks over his future will remain until the day he makes the call.

“He is a fascinating study,” Craddock continued. “We have him pencilled in for New Zealand and India then England but I’m watching this space closely.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a subtle thing (the issues in the dressing room). Smith has been a warrior at Test level.

“He was genuinely injured but there is something there.”

Ultimately the main issue with Smith’s future being so uncertain is what Australia does without him. Contingency plans are simply not in place despite the fact the age of the side has long been flagged as an issue.

“There are two big roles coming up for Smith in this Australia team,” Craddock said. “One, with Marnus likely to be sacked, Smith should be promoted to three, he has been there once in nine years and he won’t like it.

“The second one is, our bowlers are tired; we have five Tests in India and five in England. That’s 10 Tests in 14 weeks, no way Cummins can play all that.

“They need a captain behind him and Smith is that man. If he retires early say after the Sydney test, Australia is eye-ball deep in quicksand.

“They cannot do without Steve Smith over the next eight months.”