The Book at the Centre of the Storm
Usman Khawaja has not yet published a single page of his autobiography, yet the book has already commandeered the narrative surrounding Australia’s first Test tour of South Africa since 2018. The reason is straightforward: Khawaja was inside the Newlands dressing room during the sandpaper scandal, and no one outside Penguin Random House knows what he has chosen to reveal.
The memoir, titled Sabr — an Arabic word connoting patience and perseverance — is scheduled for release on November 10, shortly after the three-match series concludes. Having retired from international cricket earlier this year, Khawaja is telling his story for the first time as a former player. Two factors heighten the intrigue: he wrote the manuscript without a ghostwriter, and the publisher has distributed no advance review copies. The contents remain a tightly held secret, rendering all current discussion speculative.
Why Sandpapergate Has Resurfaced
Two developments collided this week to thrust the 2018 scandal back into the spotlight. First, Code Sports reported that Khawaja had briefed captain Pat Cummins on the book’s contents, a conversation Cummins confirmed at his pre-series press conference. Second, this tour marks Australia’s first Test assignment in South Africa since the Cape Town controversy. While the sides have met in limited-overs formats since, the return to the five-day arena has inevitably invited retrospection.
The build-up has been saturated with reminders. Broadcaster SuperSport, whose cameras originally captured Cameron Bancroft’s offence, promoted the series by resharing the 2018 footage with the caption: “Our cameras will be sharp for this 3-match Test series.” David Warner, meanwhile, has hinted that further revelations may yet emerge.
Recap: The Cape Town Scandal
During the third Test at Newlands in March 2018, television cameras caught Bancroft using a foreign object on the ball and concealing it in his trousers. In a subsequent press conference, he and captain Steve Smith claimed he had used sticky tape mixed with pitch granules. Cricket Australia’s investigation quickly disproved that account: the object was sandpaper.
The inquiry concluded that David Warner devised the plan, recruited Bancroft, and demonstrated the method. It found Smith directed the concealment of evidence. The sanctions were severe:
| Player | Ban | Leadership Restriction |
|---|---|---|
| David Warner | 12 months | Never to be considered again |
| Steve Smith | 12 months | Barred for a further 12 months after the ban |
| Cameron Bancroft | 9 months | Barred for a further 12 months after the ban |
Cricket Australia also stated at the time that Smith, Warner, and Bancroft were the only members of the touring party — players or staff — aware of the plan. Khawaja featured in all four Tests of that series.
Cummins’ Measured Response
Cummins presented a calm public face. “Uz gave me a buzz a few weeks back that he’s releasing a book,” the captain said. “He didn’t go back into too much detail. He just basically gave me a heads-up that he’s doing a book. As always, [my response was], ‘No worries, you can tell your story. That’s fine.'”
He dismissed concerns about fresh revelations: “It was obviously a long time ago. All the investigations and everything was done back then. I answered every question a million times. It was dealt with then. All I can say is [that] as a group, we’ve moved on.”
A Changed Dynamic Between the Sides
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg, travelling with the squad, insisted hostility has faded. “We’re all staying in the same hotel, both teams; we’re actually having breakfast together. I don’t think there’s that heightened emotion between the teams that [used to be] here. Eight years ago is a long time.” He added: “It’s a very different cultural environment, a very different cricket team than what came here eight years ago.”
Who Stands to Be Most Affected?
This is the question fuelling speculation, though the honest answer remains that nobody knows. What can be identified is who has the most at stake should the book challenge the established narrative.
- Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, and Lyon. Australia’s four bowlers in the Cape Town Test have consistently denied any knowledge of Bancroft’s plan. In 2021, they issued a joint statement demanding an end to “rumour-mongering and innuendo” after Bancroft suggested it was “self-explanatory” that they knew more than they admitted. Any passage touching on dressing-room awareness would place those denials back under scrutiny.
- Steve Smith. He is the sole sanctioned player still embedded in the national setup. Warner has retired; Bancroft is no longer in Australia’s plans.
- David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Both have already been publicly cast as the scandal’s central figures.
- Cricket Australia. The board’s investigation concluded the conspiracy involved only three individuals. Any account complicating that finding would reopen a chapter the governing body considers closed.
Whether Sabr contains damaging material is unknown. Khawaja has not indicated it does, and Cummins’ relaxed reaction suggests nothing he was told alarmed him.
The Significance of Timing
Khawaja’s decision to release the book days after the series ends is strategic: it insulates the cricket itself from direct disruption while capitalizing on the heightened attention. For Australia, the timing is awkward. The first Test in Durban begins Friday, and the wave of retrospectives has transformed a routine bilateral series into a referendum on what the 2018 team did — and did not — know.
The Knowns and Unknowns
We know the title, the release date, that Khawaja authored the work himself, and that he forewarned Cummins and Cricket Australia. We do not know whether the book addresses Sandpapergate at all, let alone whether it reveals new details. Until November 10, the story is less about what lies inside Sabr than about how deeply the Australian camp is bracing for its arrival.