Chadd Sayers, Australia's 12th man during the 2018 Cape Town Test, has backed Usman Khawaja's version of the Sandpapergate scandal. Sayers believes the entire Australian team knew about the use of sandpaper, contradicting Pat Cummins' account.Pat Cummins and Usman Khawaja have presented contrasting memories of Sandpapergate. (AP Photo) Usman Khawaja and Pat Cummins's contrasting narratives about the Sandpapergate controversy have taken the cricketing world by storm.

Khawaja, who reignited the 2018 incident with his new book, Sabr, has alleged that every single member of the Australian team knew that sandpaper was being used on the ball, and that only three cricketers took the fall for it.Cummins responded to the allegations in a one-hour-long press conference, where he reiterated his stance from 2021: that the Australian bowling group did not know about the use of sandpaper on the ball. He also said he was unaware of Khawaja's claim that the team had discussed taking collective responsibility in the dressing room, a plan that was eventually scrapped.Now, Chadd Sayers, Australia's 12th man during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, has broken his silence on the matter and offered his version of events.

In an interview with SEN, Sayers has backed Khawaja's account, saying he believes every member of the Australian team knew that sandpaper was being used during the South Africa series.Sayers was quick to clarify that he was not taking sides in the dispute, insisting that he was only recounting what he believed had happened. "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 (Pat Cummins) been great to me throughout my time in the Test squad, so I'm not taking sides, I'm neutral in all this," Sayers said."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."WHAT SAYERS REMEMBERS FROM SOUTH AFRICA Sayers claimed that he first became aware of the use of sandpaper during the Port Elizabeth Test. He also recalled discussions in the Australian dressing room about how the team could get the ball to reverse swing."In Port Elizabeth, so as it's known now, it was used in two Test matches and there were discussions in changing rooms of how we were going to get the ball to reverse and what was going to be used," he said.Asked whether he remembered whose idea it was initially, Sayers said he could not recall that detail.

However, he claimed that David Warner was not going to be involved and that Cameron Bancroft had stepped in to carry out the act."No, I don't recollect that, but obviously David Warner was not going to do it. Cam Bancroft stepped in and said he would," Sayers said.When asked whether he personally recalled that discussion, Sayers was emphatic: "100 per cent."He also offered an explanation for why Warner, who was eventually handed a one-year ban for his role in the ball-tampering scandal, did not want to be directly involved."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 in it," he said.DID THE AUSTRALIAN BOWLERS KNOW?One of the biggest points of disagreement in the controversy has been whether the Australian bowling group knew about the ball-tampering plan.

Cummins has maintained that the bowlers were unaware of what was happening, while Khawaja has suggested that knowledge of the plan extended across the team.Sayers, who was part of the touring squad as the 12th man in Cape Town, has now supported Khawaja's version. He argued that getting the ball to reverse swing was a collective effort and that players would have been aware of anything that could affect its condition."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," he said."So yeah, as I said, I'm pretty confident to say that everyone knew."SAYERS CRITICISES CUMMINS' RESPONSESayers also took issue with the way Cummins responded to Khawaja's allegations during his press conference.

While he acknowledged that he could understand the Australia captain's reaction, he felt Cummins had made the exchange personal."I didn't like how he did go at Usman and got personal," Sayers said."I probably get why, but I just don't think it needed to happen."HOW TO MOVE ON FROM SANDPAPERGATE?The conflicting accounts have once again brought the 2018 scandal into the spotlight, nearly eight years after the incident that led to bans for Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.For Sayers, the controversy is unlikely to disappear unless those involved arrive at a common understanding of what happened. With different members of the Australian cricket set-up continuing to offer contrasting versions, the full extent of who knew what remains disputed."I don't think it's ever going to settle unless everyone agrees to what happened," he said."So, in that sense, probably is not going to settle.

I know we've heard David Warner come out and say a few things as well.""Unless everyone settles on what actually happened, I think everyone's going to be curious for a long time."- Ends