Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc on 10 November 2026 flatly rejected teammate Usman Khawaja's explosive allegation that the entire Australian squad was aware of the Sandpapergate ball-tampering incident during the Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018. Speaking at Kayo Sports and Fox Cricket's Summer of the Century launch event in Sydney, Starc said his account of events has not shifted since the joint statement he co-signed eight years ago.

Starc's Position: Standing by the 2021 Statement

'My recollection hasn't changed from what we said in 2021,' Starc told reporters, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald. He reiterated that the 2021 joint statement — issued alongside fellow bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon — denied that any of the bowling unit had prior knowledge of the sandpaper being taken onto the field.

'We weren't aware it was taken on the field to be tampered with. We saw it on the big screen (for the first time) in Cape Town,' Starc said. On Khawaja's specific claim about an earlier incident at the second Test in Port Elizabeth, Starc was equally direct: 'That's the first time I was aware of it (in Cape Town). I'll leave that for the said author to explain.'

Khawaja's Book and Warner's Backing

The controversy stems from Khawaja's recently published book 'Sabr', in which the opening batter dedicates the Sandpapergate chapter to Cameron Bancroft, David Warner, and Steve Smith. Khawaja alleges that 'everyone knew' about the plan to illegally alter the ball during the Cape Town Test. Former opener David Warner has since publicly endorsed the claims, calling them '100% accurate.'

Starc pointedly declined to engage with the book's contents. 'I haven't read it and probably won't read it, so that's for Usman to elaborate on,' he said. He acknowledged the existence of competing accounts but stood firm: 'Clearly there are different versions from different people, and I'll leave it where I left it back then.'

Background: The 2021 Bowlers' Statement

The bowlers' collective denial in 2021 was itself a direct response to remarks made by Cameron Bancroft — the player filmed concealing the sandpaper in his trousers — who told The Guardian that it was 'self-explanatory' that the bowlers had been aware. That statement from Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, and Lyon drew a clear line between the batting and fielding unit and the bowling group, a distinction that Khawaja's book now directly challenges.

Starc also noted that former head coach Darren Lehmann — referred to by his nickname 'Boof' — had also commented on the matter and 'is not to be forgotten in all of that, too,' suggesting the accountability questions extend beyond the playing XI.

Strained Relations and the Shadow Over Australia's Summer

Starc acknowledged that relations with Khawaja may have been affected, saying he had not spoken to the left-hander 'in the last day or two' and that 'it's up to him' whether the two would speak again. The remark was notable for what it implied about the dressing-room atmosphere ahead of a packed home season.

Australia are scheduled to face England in eight white-ball matches starting from Friday, followed by four Test matches against New Zealand later in the year. Starc described the timing of the controversy as 'definitely disappointing,' but pointed to Travis Head's recent comment that 'the group has changed a lot' as the team's preferred framing heading into the summer.