New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) Cricket Australia once again responded to the ongoing debate around the reignited Sandpapergate scandal, admitting that the players might never reach an agreement on the 2018 incident in Cape Town.
Sandpapergate has made the headlines once again after Usman Khawaja made explosive claims that the whole Australian team knew about the ball-tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test and that the sandpaper was also used during the previous Test match in Port Elizabeth.
With different views coming from Australian cricketers, CA has admitted that it remains "very unlikely" that the players will reach an agreement over the issue.
"We respect the right of those in South Africa in 2018 to share their version of what they believe happened on that tour," a CA spokesperson said on Sunday as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.
"The significant differences in the views expressed continues to demonstrate that it is very unlikely an agreed version of events will be reached without relevant material evidence," the spokesperson added.
This comes after former Australian bowler Chadd Sayers on Sunday rejected Pat Cummins' statements on the Sandpapergate. Sayers, who was a member of the touring Australian side for the 2018 series, said he was confident that "everyone" in the Australian Test side knew of what was happening.
"I’m comfortable sitting here … that I believe that everyone in that side knew what was going on and what was being used," Sayers told SEN radio on Sunday. "I’m not taking sides. I’m neutral in all this … I’m just trying to tell my side of the story and what I believe happened."
"I think I've probably been portrayed in the media as taking Usman (Khawaja)'s side because I've spoken out and acknowledged that that was probably the truth. But I'm neutral in all this. I'm just trying to tell my side of the story and what I believe happened.
"There are no sides; they've both been great to me throughout my time in the Test squad, so I'm not taking sides; I'm neutral in all this," he added.
Meanwhile, David Warner has posted another Instagram post where he hit out at CA, saying that he had to admit his role in the episode without having been given full information on the scandal.
Warner's recent statement came after he had claimed that Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were not interviewed on Saturday. However, the Sydney Morning Herald confirmed that the trio were interviewed.
“Just to clarify ‘, as far as I am aware’ was the POINT. I was never told the bowlers had been interviewed or provided statements. That information would’ve been pretty useful when I was forced to make decisions in 2018. Why weren’t we given all the evidence by CA?” Warner wrote on social media.
--IANS
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