Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has said there's no "compelling reason" to re-open the investigation into the 2018 sandpaper incident despite revelations from Usman Khawaja and David Warner and that the CA board sees "absolutely no benefit in going back" due to the divergence of accounts from those in the Cape Town dressing room.
"There's absolutely no benefit in going back," Greenberg told SEN radio. "That's the clear position of the CA board. I think it's time we've got to look ahead, and the matter was dealt with under a previous leadership back in 2018. And you know, trying to second guess decisions from a previous time, or making an assessment through the prism of hindsight, it's not something we want to do."
Khawaja has reignited the controversy with the release of his autobiography Sabr on Tuesday where he devoted an entire chapter to the incident. In it he says that Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were not the sole people with knowledge of the plot and that the team used sandpaper on the ball in the second Test in Port Elizabeth, prior to being caught at Newlands.
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Khawaja also revealed that he was never interviewed in the original investigation despite sitting next to Bancroft for the entire Cape Town Test. Warner has subsequently stated that Khawaja's version is "100% accurate." Chadd Sayers, who was an Australian squad member in Cape Town and played in the Johannesburg Test after the suspensions were handed down, told Channel 7 on Saturday: "Everything Usman says in his article is accurate."
Cricinfo understands that one other player from the Cape Town team also corroborates Khawaja's version of events.
CA made a statement on Saturday after Khawaja was quoted by Nine newspapers ahead saying the organisation was comfortable with the findings of the 2018 investigation. No one from the CA executive or the CA board in 2018 remains at the organisation.
Greenberg was not involved in cricket in 2018 but was the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) CEO from 2020 to 2025 before taking over as CA's CEO. In his time as ACA CEO he spoke to a large number of the Cape Town participants about the incident and he has also seen the full transcripts of the Cape Town investigation.
Speaking on Tuesday morning he admitted he had not yet read the book but had received a call from Khawaja about it. He also said CA would not be re-opening the investigation into the matter.
"We have said we're comfortable with the outcome of the investigation based on the information we've received, that includes what we've seen from Usman and our position hasn't changed on that," he said. "I don't see any compelling reason to open the investigation or revisit this again. I don't think there's anything that can be gained from that."
Greenberg revealed that he had spoken to other players from the Cape Town dressing over the weekend and that their version of events differ from Khawaja's.
"I can assure you, there are lots of other players who have a very, very different version of events, and they've made that very public from the very start in 2018," Greenberg said. "They've been very consistent in their position right through until today, and you know my conversations with many of them over the weekend, I don't think that will change either. So I think we end up at the same intersection point, which is eight years ago people have a version of events which differ from each other. And I completely get it, no one would like to get this chapter of Australian cricket closed more than me, but it is unlikely."
Greenberg confirmed that Australia captain Pat Cummins would speak about the issue in the coming days having been one of the bowlers playing in Cape Town. Another bowler in that XI, Mitchell Starc, is due to do a media appearance on Tuesday afternoon. Mitchell Marsh, who also played in Cape Town, will hold a media conference on Thursday ahead of Australia's first ODI against England in Perth.
"There's no doubt that you'll hear from Pat and you'll hear from other players over the coming days or weeks," Greenberg said. "And as I said, I know people are calling for the truth, but in reference to the bowlers, I think one thing that is clear is they've been very consistent from the original investigation back in 2018, in the days that immediately followed this Test match.
"Again, in their public statements in 2021, and again in many of my conversations with them over the weekend, their position has remained consistent and hasn't changed, and there'll obviously be time for them. Pat will speak at some point in the days or weeks ahead, but I expect that their position will be exactly the same as it has been since the start of this in 2018."