Sandpapergate continues to wound Australia eight years on

Fri, 11 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 117, AAW 4/121

Mon, 14 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 235, AUS 8/294

Mon, 14 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 7/148, AAW 2/178

Wed, 16 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 161, AAW 5/168

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 272, AUS 6/356

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 6/182, AUU 7/175

Thu, 17 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAU 9/238, SAM 0/58

Fri, 18 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, QUE 7/335, VIC 7/339

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, ZIM 8/271, AUS 9/272

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/239, AAW 235

Sat, 19 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAU 115, TAS 1/117

Sun, 20 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 7/341, AUU 239

Mon, 21 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, QUE 358, NSW 6/359

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/338, AAW 8/341

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 4/255, AUU 254

Tue, 22 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAM 7/383, TAS 8/376

Wed, 23 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 8/297, AUS 230

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 6/364, AAW 9/362

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INA 334 & 199, AUA 171 & 200

Thu, 24 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, VIC 212, NSW 257

Sat, 26 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 9/365, AUS 333

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, INU 494, AUU 217 & 229

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SYW 4/168, QUW 167

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, VIW 8/293, SAS 7/290

Mon, 28 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAW 6/236, TAW 232

Tue, 29 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SAF 4/145, AUS 9/322

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, IAW 364 & 257, AAW 176 & 164

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, SYW 174, QUW 4/285

Wed, 30 Sept, 11:00 pm, Final score, WAW 7/273, TAW 7/299

Thu, 1 Oct, 2:00 pm, Final score, VIW -, SAS -

Thu, 1 Oct, 11:00 pm, Final score, INA 167 & 9/310, AUA 358 & 4/173d

Tue, 6 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 149, AUA 274

Tue, 6 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, QUW 9/266, BAW 7/196

Wed, 7 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INU 315 & 0/11, AUU 174 & 151

Fri, 9 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 3/168, BAW 166

Fri, 9 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 206, AUA 275

Sat, 10 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, VIC 244 & 224, SAM 508

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 1/222, BAW 6/220

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, INA 275, AUA 226

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, NSW 9/500d, TAS 245 & 5/402

Sun, 11 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 175 & 8/201, QUE 307 & 68

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, VIC 241, SAM 311

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 7/127, ACM 100

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 3/136, BHW 90

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 7/138, PSW 4/139

Mon, 12 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 3/79, MSW 78

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 284 & 206, AUS 390 & 6/314d

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, NSW 158, TAS 203

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 246, QUE 261

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 3/78, ACM 7/77

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 4/183, PSW 8/182

Tue, 13 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW -, BHW -

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 2/175, BAW 172

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 4/180, MSW 6/179

Wed, 14 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 5/165, HHW 8/136

Fri, 16 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 4/86, ACM 83

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 7/397, QUE 271

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 5/136, PSW 8/166

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 5/122, MRW 9/121

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ACM 4/129, MSW 6/132

Sat, 17 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 9/105, ASW 6/143

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 8/165, NZW 2/162

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 2/132, HHW 8/129

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 129, ASW 6/139

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 2/93, PSW 92

Sun, 18 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 8/155, MSW 5/158

Sun, 18 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW 7/167, NZW 8/127

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 6/116, PSW 5/118

Tue, 20 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 9/152, SSW 6/153

Tue, 20 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Wed, 21 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 203 & 145, QUE 238 & 4/114

Wed, 21 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 7/134, SSW 8/149

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 9/425d, AUS 99 & 295 f/o

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AUW -, NZW 2/11

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 241 & 236, VIC 207 & 266

Thu, 22 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 339 & 9/244, NSW 6/440d & 5/262d

Thu, 22 Oct, 7:15 pm, Live score, AUW -, BAW -

Sat, 24 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 137, VIC 7/304

Sat, 24 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 293, NSW 8/371

Thu, 29 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 9/138, STW 4/140

Thu, 29 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 4/192, HHW 8/174

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 5/154, SSW 6/157

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 3/135, ONG 4/107

Fri, 30 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, EN6 0/121, AU6 4/159

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAF 329 & 387, AUS 429 & 111

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 2/185, MSW 7/164

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 1/138, MRW 6/136

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, SAM 154 & 316, WAU 5/406d & 169

Sat, 31 Oct, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 3/141, UE6 6/88

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 4/180, BHW 5/178

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 8/196, HHW 109

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, TAS 427, NSW 202 & 144 f/o

Sun, 1 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, AU6 5/115, AF6 2/119

Mon, 2 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 109, PSW 9/124

Tue, 3 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, QUE 280 & 3/75, VIC 307 & 173

Wed, 4 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, HHW 7/154, MRW 6/155

Thu, 5 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, ASW 5/170, BHW 4/184

Thu, 5 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, STW 166, PSW 3/183

Fri, 6 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MSW 7/159, SSW 5/160

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, MRW 3/188, ASW 8/152

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, BHW 6/119, HHW 9/116

Sat, 7 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, WAU 159, ENG 251

Sun, 8 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, SSW 2/162, STW 158

Sun, 8 Nov, 12:00 am, Final score, PSW 4/137, MSW 6/136

Tue, 10 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, HHW versus ASW

Wed, 11 Nov, 10:30 am, Game not started, NSW versus SAM

Wed, 11 Nov, 10:30 am, Game not started, VIC versus WAU

Wed, 11 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, QUE versus TAS

Wed, 11 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus STW

Thu, 12 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, MSW versus BHW

Thu, 12 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MRW versus SSW

Fri, 13 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Sat, 14 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, HHW versus BHW

Sat, 14 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus ASW

Sun, 15 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, SSW versus MRW

Sun, 15 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Mon, 16 Nov, 10:00 am, Game not started, NSW versus SAM

Mon, 16 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, QUE versus TAS

Mon, 16 Nov, 2:00 pm, Game not started, VIC versus WAU

Mon, 16 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, STW versus MSW

Tue, 17 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, ASW versus SSW

Wed, 18 Nov, 2:30 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Thu, 19 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, HHW versus PSW

Thu, 19 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, BHW versus STW

Fri, 20 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, ASW versus MRW

Sat, 21 Nov, 12:00 pm, Game not started, HHW versus STW

Sat, 21 Nov, 3:30 pm, Game not started, SSW versus PSW

Sat, 21 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Sun, 22 Nov, 10:30 am, Game not started, NSW versus QUE

Sun, 22 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, BHW versus ASW

Sun, 22 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MSW versus MRW

Mon, 23 Nov, 1:30 pm, Game not started, WAU versus TAS

Tue, 24 Nov, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus VIC

Tue, 24 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Wed, 25 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MRW versus BHW

Thu, 26 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, STW versus ASW

Thu, 26 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, SSW versus MSW

Fri, 27 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Fri, 27 Nov, 9:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus HHW

Sat, 28 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, MRW versus MSW

Sat, 28 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, STW versus SSW

Sun, 29 Nov, 12:00 pm, Game not started, BHW versus PSW

Sun, 29 Nov, 3:30 pm, Game not started, ASW versus HHW

Sun, 29 Nov, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Tue, 1 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Wed, 2 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUS versus ENG

Thu, 3 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, NSW versus WAU

Thu, 3 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, VIC versus QUE

Thu, 3 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus TAS

Thu, 3 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Sat, 5 Dec, 7:10 pm, Game not started, versus

Wed, 9 Dec, 1:20 pm, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Sat, 12 Dec, 8:10 pm, Game not started, MER versus PER

Mon, 14 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAS versus WAW

Tue, 15 Dec, 10:00 am, Game not started, ACM versus SYW

Tue, 15 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Tue, 15 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus SYS

Wed, 16 Dec, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAS versus WAW

Wed, 16 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus ADE

Thu, 17 Dec, 10:00 am, Game not started, ACM versus SYW

Thu, 17 Dec, 11:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Thu, 17 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus BRI

Fri, 18 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Fri, 18 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus ADE

Sat, 19 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus VIW

Sat, 19 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus SYS

Sun, 20 Dec, 3:00 pm, Game not started, SLW versus AUW

Sun, 20 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus HOB

Mon, 21 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus VIW

Mon, 21 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus BRI

Tue, 22 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYS versus MER

Wed, 23 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus SYT

Thu, 24 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MER versus HOB

Sat, 26 Dec, 10:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Sat, 26 Dec, 6:05 pm, Game not started, SYS versus BRI

Sat, 26 Dec, 9:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus MES

Sun, 27 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus MER

Mon, 28 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus ADE

Tue, 29 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus MES

Wed, 30 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus SYT

Thu, 31 Dec, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus MES

Fri, 1 Jan 2027, 4:00 pm, Game not started, MER versus SYS

Fri, 1 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus HOB

Sat, 2 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYT versus PER

Sun, 3 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, SYS versus ADE

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, AUS versus NZL

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, QUW versus ACM

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 6:05 pm, Game not started, MES versus MER

Mon, 4 Jan 2027, 9:15 pm, Game not started, PER versus BRI

Tue, 5 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus SYT

Wed, 6 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, QUW versus ACM

Wed, 6 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, ADE versus MER

Thu, 7 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, MES versus SYS

Fri, 8 Jan 2027, 5:00 pm, Game not started, WAW versus VIW

Fri, 8 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, BRI versus PER

Sat, 9 Jan 2027, 10:30 am, Game not started, TAW versus SYW

Sat, 9 Jan 2027, 7:15 pm, Game not started, HOB versus ADE

It's possible to forget now, obscured by the fog of the past eight years, just how extreme the national fury was in the wake of Cape Town, 2018.

This was a sporting scandal that broke containment lines. From your barista to your bus driver to the prime minister, everyone had something to say.

Sandpapergate touched something sensitive in the national psyche. It busted precisely the wrong myth, bruised just the wrong bit of our collective ego.

And not even after Cameron Bancroft, Steve Smith and David Warner were tarred and feathered in the town square did the interest subside. Outrage was diluted by time into regret and curiosity, but there was a permanence to the damage done.

This next chapter was inevitable and in the end it was Usman Khawaja who put his hand up and first told his story, one now corroborated by his good mate Warner. The floodgates may well now open, and civil war could be at hand.

Khawaja's version, which has trickled out gradually over the course of four days, is only barely revelatory. The notion knowledge of the sandpaper plot went beyond the banned trio is not new, stands to reason and has been hinted at consistently almost from day one.

Bancroft himself back in 2021 insinuated with only a degree of subtlety that the great conspiracy extended beyond he, Smith and Warner. It was Bancroft's comments that prompted the indignant statement from the bowlers, which Khawaja claims further enraged Warner.

Given what Khawaja and Warner have now shared publicly, you can only imagine the atmosphere inside that dressing room. Fractured relationships may have been held together by shared on-field goals, but once that field is no longer shared, all bets are off.

The wider reaction has been curious. Some have pointed blame at Khawaja, which is unsurprising and something he likely expected.

It seems that by in going first he is seeking to clear the runway for Warner to eventually tell his tale in greater, potentially more scathing detail. Whether Khawaja has done this out of pure friendship, a form of penance or a little of both is something only he will know, but arguing he is simply trying to make a buck from a book is an oversimplification.

Darren Lehmann, meanwhile, the coach at the time and the only other person to suffer any significant repercussions, rejected some of Khawaja's assertions but offered up the fact that ball tampering had been "going on for 150 years" by "everyone in the world".

The substance of Khawaja's claims have not sparked any great backlash or rebuttal, but the timing, source and medium of them have drawn ire. And from all of that combined, much can be gleamed.

The greatest sin committed by the Australian cricket team in Cape Town in 2018 — or at least the sin that cost them the most — was taking the Australian public for fools.

Lehmann was, of course, correct when he said that ball tampering had been around forever and that basically everybody did it. Performed with the correct amount of tact it could be passed off as one of the game's "dark arts", and even those who did get caught generally only received fines or very minor suspensions.

As you could sense in Lehmann's tone, this was not as much of a taboo inside Australian cricket, even down to the dog-eat-dog ranks of grade cricket, as it was to the uninitiated who, quite justifiably, simply saw cheating as cheating and not part of some wider unspoken code.

In any case, before Cape Town most Australians were comforted by th belief that they were above such a thing. That Test match permanently shattered illusions. Mints and fingernails are one thing, but something as blatant and guileless as sandpaper? Not only were we ball tamperers, we were incredibly bad at it too.

Then came the first cover-up. Not the one Khawaja has allegedly lifted the lid on, but the instinctive, reflexive lie that came from Cricket Australia and the players on the day, when it was claimed that the contraband in Bancroft's pocket was a piece of sticky tape covered with "granules" from the pitch.

As ever, the cover-up was worse than the crime. The cavalier hubris of the whole affair, from conception to execution to deception, stung our sense of Australian exceptionalism and prompted an exceptional punishment.

Eight years on and with a perpetual war of words seemingly pending, it's hard to see how many lessons have been learned. "Ball tampering is bad" may be the extent of them.

Trying to wring the truth out of this mess may forever prove impossible, arguably by design. Khawaja said he was stunned that at no point during the investigation was he questioned or approached in any way. Indeed, if your goal is to ascertain what everybody knew, it does seem counterproductive not to simply ask everybody what they knew.

We have received hints at the truth, raised eyebrows and winking "no comments". Even Khawaja's recollections are in the main broad enough to avoid direct accusation, and therefore responsibility.

If everyone is ball tampering, then is anyone really ball tampering? If everyone knew about it, then who do you actually blame for it? At this point we're left with Joe Pesci in JFK, screaming at us about mysteries wrapped in riddles inside enigmas. "Even the ball tamperers don't know who did it! Don't you get it?"

And all the while Australians, who have always cared less for a case of whodunnit and more about the irreparable breach of trust, are still being played for fools.

Khawaja says Bancroft, Smith and Warner are the greatest victims and his point is valid. They suffered unprecedented consequences for not entirely unprecedented acts. If they did indeed carry the can for their equally implicated teammates then they have right to feel beyond aggrieved.

But the sense of loss felt by Australians was what justified those consequences at the time and what is fuelling the emotion of today. Rightly or wrongly, some element of our national identity will always be attached to our men's Test cricket team and the wounds that remain stem from a feeling of betrayal.

Nothing we have learned this week helps to mend those wounds. Yet more cover-ups, more accusations, more denials, more quasi-confessions. The water is only muddier, the deeds of the past worth less, and the worst, surely, still yet to come.