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‘People have different views’: Cricket Australia refuses to re-open sandpaper scandal investigation

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Cite

Pierik, J. (2026, November 9). ‘People have different views’: Cricket Australia refuses to re-open sandpaper scandal investigation. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/people-have-different-views-cricket-australia-refuses-to-re-open-sandpaper-scandal-investigation-20261110-p61csw.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

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The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-11-09 · by Jon Pierik

Quick Summary

Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has declined to reopen an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper scandal involving Australian cricket players Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft. Greenberg cited differing recollections among team members as a reason not to pursue further inquiry, despite recent claims made by Usman Khawaja in his book "Sabr." The incident occurred during a Test match in Cape Town where Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper to tamper with the ball.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out reopening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper scandal, stating that team members will never agree on how the plot to tamper with the ball was hatched. Speaking to radio station SEN, Greenberg said he had spoken with several players since Usman Khawaja’s claims about the events of 2018 surfaced in anticipation of his book release. Khawaja's book details that the Australian team began using sandpaper for ball-tampering in Port Elizabeth before Bancroft was caught on camera at Cape Town. Greenberg respected Khawaja's right to tell his side but noted differing accounts from other players, making a new inquiry unlikely. Greenberg was CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association during the scandal when Steve Smith and David Warner were banned for their roles alongside Cameron Bancroft.

Written for “Cricket Australia Sandpaper Scandal Refusal” on 2026-11-10, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

Cricket Australia Sandpaper Scandal Refusal
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Pat Cummins has to front up and explain all on ball-tampering scandal Different event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 35 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the ball-tampering scandal: one focuses on Pat Cummins' public statements and interventions, while the other reports Cricket Australia's refusal to re-open an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga.”
Khawaja 100% accurate on ball-tampering - Warner Different event
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss the 2018 ball-tampering scandal involving the Australian cricket team, they describe different aspects and developments: one focuses on Warner's response to Khawaja's claims, while the other reports on Cricket Australia's decision regarding re-investigation of the incident.”
Usman Khawaja’s ‘Sandpapergate’ claims are ‘accurate’, says David Warner Different event
Al Jazeera
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 60/100
“While both articles discuss the 'sandpaper scandal' of 2018, they describe different aspects and outcomes — Article A focuses on Cricket Australia's refusal to re-open an investigation based on differing player recollections, whereas Article B highlights David Warner supporting Usman Khawaja’s claims about team-wide awareness.”
Whole Australia team knew of sandpaper use - Khawaja Different event
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses Usman Khawaja's claims about the entire team knowing about sandpaper use, while Article B reports on Cricket Australia's refusal to re-open an investigation into the same incident. They describe different aspects of the broader 'sandpapergate' event but not the exact same occurrence.”
Cricket Australia responds to explosive Khawaja claims Different event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 4 of 14 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss Cricket Australia's stance on the sandpaper scandal, Article A focuses on their response to Khawaja's new claims and defending past actions, whereas Article B reports Greenberg ruling out a re-investigation due to differing recollections among team members.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
6
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
1 of 6 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Jon Pierik
32 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out re-opening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga, saying members of the Australian team at that time will never agree on how the ball-tampering plot was hatched and carried out.
2026-11-09 · assertive framing · ‘People have different views’: Cricket Australia refuses to re-open sandpaper scandal investigation
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Also by Jon Pierik
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 32 articles by Jon Pierik →

Topics

Australian Cape Town Cricket Australia SEN the Australian Cricketers’ Association

Subjects

Greenberg PERSON · 4× Australian NORP · 3× Cape Town GPE · 2× Khawaja PERSON · 2× SEN ORG · 2× Cricket Australia ORG · 1× Steve Smith PERSON · 1× Todd Greenberg PERSON · 1× Usman Khawaja’s PERSON · 1× the Australian Cricketers’ Association ORG · 1×

Narrative

Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out re-opening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga, saying members of the Australian team at that time will never agree on how the ball-tampering plot was hatched and carried out.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out re-opening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga, saying members of the Australian team at that time will never agree on how the ball-tampering plot was hatched and carried out.
2026-11-09 · The Sydney Morning Herald
‘People have different views’: Cricket Australia refuses to re-open sandpaper scandal investigation · assertive framing

Claims (6 extracted, 1 hedged)

Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg has ruled out re-opening an investigation into the 2018 sandpaper saga, saying members of the Australian team at that time will never agree on how the ball-tampering plot was hatched and carried out. asserted
plot → rule → time
Greenberg told radio station SEN he had spoken to a number of players since Usman Khawaja’s claims about the events of 2018 surfaced at the weekend in anticipation of his book, Sabr, being released today. uncertain
book → tell → anticipation
“People have very different views of what happened, and recollections of what happened,” Greenberg said. asserted
Greenberg → have → views
Greenberg was CEO of the Australian Cricketers’ Association at the time Australian captain Steve Smith and opening batsmen David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were banned for their role in the ball-tampering at Cape Town. asserted
Smith → ban → Town
Khawaja’s book details how the Australian team started using sandpaper in Port Elizabeth – now Gqeberha – in the Test before Bancroft was caught on camera in Cape Town, and he states it was common knowledge within the team. asserted
it → detail → team
Greenberg told SEN he respected Khawaja and his right to tell his side of the story candidly, but there were other players in that team whose versions of events differed markedly, and a new inquiry was unlikely to change that. asserted
inquiry → tell → that
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