'Everyone knew': Sayers counters Cummins' stance on sandpaper use

Chadd Sayers, a member of Australia's squad on the 2018 South Africa tour, said he had carried the sandpaper off the field during the Cape Town Test and believed everyone in the side knew it was being used. He also said Cricket Australia never interviewed him as part of its investigation.

Speaking to SEN on Sunday (November 15), Sayers said the plan was already in motion in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, a week before Cameron Bancroft was caught in Cape Town. "So as it's known now it was used in two Test matches and there was discussions in change rooms that how were we going to get the ball to reverse and what was going to be used," he said.

Sayers ended up carrying the sandpaper off himself when he came on with drinks after Tea. He believed Bancroft passed it to him. "It was given to me to take off, so that wasn't planned or anything. I was just the player who took the drinks out at the time. I recall it was a wicket or a drinks break after Tea."

Sayers couldn't recall whose idea it was, but he remembered David Warner refusing to carry it out before Bancroft volunteered. "I think we all know David Warner was seen as being the bad boy of the Australian cricket side at that stage and cameras were always going to be on him, so he was not going to take part of it."

Sayers' account put him directly at odds with that of the frontline bowlers, who have always maintained they knew nothing. In fact, in an extraordinary press conference two days ago, Pat Cummins remained firm that the entire team was not aware of the plan to tamper with the ball using sandpaper.

"I'm comfortable sitting here right now and where I stand on the situation that I believe that everyone in that side knew what was going on and what was being used," Sayers said. "I would have thought as a team when you're trying to get the ball to reverse that everyone would buy in, because if one little thing goes wrong in the field to the ball it stops it from reversing straight away. So yeah, as I said, I'm pretty confident to say that everyone knew."

Sayers also remembered the dressing-room meeting about collective responsibility, which Cummins had said on Friday he could not recall. "After the occurrence in Cape Town, we all sat in the change rooms after that day's play and probably for 60 to 90 minutes and just talked about what had happened and I guess where to next."

Sayers vaguely remembered two players objecting to the idea but would not name them. He put the eventual silence down to a young, unsettled group protecting their places. "I think obviously players are probably concerned about their own spot in the Australian cricket side... and yeah we didn't know severity or the punishments that were to come."

Sayers revealed that the players had been told to stay close to the team hotel because interviews were coming, but Sayers said nobody ever spoke to him. He said he had not discussed the matter with Cricket Australia since leaving South Africa, and he had not known about the anonymous hotline CA set up a year later.

Sayers admitted he had gone along with the plan at the time. "I was trying to fit into the Australian side, probably similar to Cam Bancroft... probably didn't know how big it was gonna get and I guess you probably don't think you're gonna get caught doing it, so probably not, just probably going along with everyone else and trying to win a game of cricket."

Sayers said he watched only part of Cummins' news conference on Friday, where the Australia captain called Khawaja's claims "100% wrong" and "utter nonsense".

"It felt a bit awkward and yeah, I just didn't want to see that," he said. "I didn't like how he did go at Usman and got personal, and I probably get why, but I just don't think it needed to happen."

He rejected the idea that he had picked a side. "I think I've probably been portrayed in the media as taking Usman's side because I've spoken out and acknowledged that that was probably the truth, but I'm neutral in all this... They've both been great to me throughout my time in the Test squad, so I'm not taking sides."

Sayers played his only Test in the series finale that followed, and he said speaking out had come as a relief. "It's been hard because you obviously got to tiptoe around and not be able to tell the truth, so as I said, it's probably a relief now that it's out there in the open," he said. "I guess that series was supposed to be a happy one for me because I debuted the Test after, but I guess when something like that happens it always gets drawn back to that conversation and not your debut."

Khawaja's autobiography alleged that the entire team knew of the plan and that only Steve Smith, Bancroft and Warner took the fall for what he seemed should have been a collective responsibility. Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon have always denied it. On Saturday, Warner accused CA of a cover-up, suggesting that the bowling group was never interviewed.

Sayers doubted the matter would be settled soon. "I believe the truth's the truth and it will come out, but yeah, I just hope soon it's stopped and we can just focus on the summer ahead."