Pat Cummins denied arguing with wife Becky after their animated exchange went viral on Thursday. The Australian captain said she was frustrated by Usman Khawaja's account of the Sandpapergate scandal.Pat Cummins said his wife was very frustrated with Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate claims (Instagram/AP Photos) Australia captain Pat Cummins said his wife Becky was among those hurt by Usman Khawaja's account of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal, as he addressed the fallout from the renewed Sandpapergate controversy in a nearly hour-long press conference in Sydney on Friday.Cummins was responding to both Khawaja's comments and a video of him and Becky in an animated exchange outside their Sydney home, which had circulated widely on social media.
He denied that the couple had been having an argument, explaining that Becky was frustrated with Khawaja's account and had encouraged him to speak openly about an episode that continued to affect those involved.The Australia captain spent close to an hour taking questions, even joking that someone from Guinness World Records should have been present. He also made it clear that this would be his one opportunity to address the matter publicly.Asked about the footage, Cummins played down the suggestion that he and Becky had been having a spat, while expressing frustration at the cameras following his family. "It's half very comical.
Becky wears her heart on her sleeve. And half ridiculous.
We are here talking about something that was dealt with eight-and-a-half years ago. Now, I am walking my daughter in her nappies on the front (of my house) and I have got cameras chasing me and my family.
For me that's a bit ridiculous," he said.He went on to explain Becky's reaction, making it clear that her frustration was directed at Khawaja's account rather than at him. "But, while we are on the topic because we think it was funny, we weren't having a spat. Becky was very frustrated and animated and really unhappy with Usman," Cummins said."We weren't having a spat.
Becky was very frustrated, animated, and really not happy with Usman." MORE: https://t.co/0PIKdMHu6W https://t.co/xJvtxQaqYu— CODE Cricket (@codecricketau) November 12, 2026'SHOW YOUR EMOTION'Becky had also urged her husband not to hold back when speaking to the media, telling him that others were still hurting from the episode."She just said, 'Show your emotion. There are a lot of people who are hurting'.
She was like, 'Be honest' and tell the details. I have been with Becky even before that tour.
She has been with me," he said.The dispute centres on Khawaja's autobiography Sabr, in which the former Australia opener questioned how much the team knew about the use of sandpaper during the 2018 tour of South Africa. His account suggested that responsibility for the ball-tampering episode extended beyond the three players who were sanctioned.During the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018, Cameron Bancroft was caught on television attempting to alter the ball with sandpaper.
A Cricket Australia investigation resulted in lengthy suspensions for captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Bancroft. Cummins was part of that Australian side and has consistently denied knowing that sandpaper was being used.'FLIPPANT, CASUAL, IRRESPONSIBLE'His strongest objection was to Khawaja's suggestion that the team knew about the use of the abrasive material."When he says 'we all knew', if he said 'we all knew that the sandpaper was being used', I am sure that's 100 percent wrong," Cummins said.He questioned why Khawaja had chosen to revisit the episode in this manner, while acknowledging that the former opener might still have unresolved feelings about it.
But Cummins stressed that the account had consequences for people beyond those directly involved."It looks like it's been sitting heavy on him for a while. It's eight-and-a-half years ago.
I get that. Maybe this is Usman's chance and he never really got over it at the time," Cummins said."But this is people's real lives and this is serious.
This affects not only people, but people's families. I'm one of the lesser ones, maybe this week I'm right there, but talking eight years ago, it was traumatic for those guys.
For all of us, for Australian cricket, for fans."Cummins also spoke about his long friendship with Khawaja, who had been alongside him through much of his career with New South Wales and Australia. That relationship, he said, made the comments harder to accept, but did not change his view of how they had been presented."I played 15 years, my debut for New South Wales and with Australia, Usman was right there and he's been awesome to me and he's a friend," he said."To bring it out so flippantly and casually, I think it's irresponsible."While acknowledging Khawaja's right to tell his own story, Cummins said he hoped the latest round of discussion would bring the matter to a close.
He pointed out that the players had already answered questions during the original investigation and had been forced to revisit the episode in 2021."We've been very consistent. We dealt with this at the time, we told everyone in the investigation everything we knew.
We had to defend ourselves in 2021, we've had to defend ourselves now," he said."If we have to do this every time another book or idea comes out, it's pretty ridiculous."- Ends