Mitch Marsh has uncomfortable exchange with journalist over new Sandpapergate claims
Australia white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh appeared visibly uncomfortable when asked to address Usman Khawaja's fresh claims over Sandpapergate ahead of the upcoming ODI series against England.
Marsh was part of the Australia bowling contingent during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018, during which Cameron Bancroft was spotted rubbing sandpaper against the ball.
The bowling group have always denied any knowledge of the plot, which saw captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Bancroft all receive varying bans from cricket. That account has been challenged by Khawaja's claims in his new autobiography that the entire Australia team were aware of the plot. A host of current and former players have already spoken about in response to Khawaja, and it was all-rounder Marsh's time to be grilled by the media on Thursday.
Mitch Marsh's tense exchange with reporter in full
Marsh, who opens the batting for Australia in white-ball cricket and now rarely bowls since retiring from first-class cricket, fronted up to the media in Perth ahead of Australia's opening ODI against England at Optus Stadium on Friday.
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Understandably, Khawaja and Sandpapergate - and whether the bowlers knew about the plot - was high up on the agenda among the reporters present. But Marsh was in no mood to open the wounds back up from his perspective.
Journalist: Did you know that sandpaper was being used to tamper with cricket balls in South Africa?
Marsh: Jeez, you just hit a six off the first ball there, mate. Well done. Look, there's obviously been a lot of noise around this week, and I respect that certain people have told their stories. But I'm not here to share mine today. I know that might sound weird, but it's a big week for us and it's an important time for this one-day group, and my sole focus has been on preparing for tomorrow.
Journalist: You're walking out to captain Australia tomorrow. Why can't you give the Australian people a yes or no?
Marsh: That's exactly it. I'm walking out tomorrow to captain my country, in a really exciting series against England, in a World Cup year. And my focus has been on that this week.
Journalist: It's about more than just tomorrow's game though, isn't it? Do people deserve to know if you've been keeping that to yourself for eight years?
Marsh: Yeah, for me, tomorrow's really important. So that's where my focus has been.
Journalist: Can you say yes or no? Did you know that sandpaper was being used to tamper with balls in the 2018 South Africa series?
Marsh: Yeah look, as I said, I'm not here to go back on my recollections of South Africa.
Journalist: Usman Khawaja said that the entire team knew, including yourself. He says that players like yourself have let others take the fall for that. Is that accurate, or is he lying?
Marsh: Look, as I've already stated, I really respect that Uzzie's told his story, he's written his book. And my focus is really on tomorrow ... As I said, I'm not here to go back on my recollections of South Africa. I'm solely focused on tomorrow, mate, and you've asked the same question now for...
Journalist: Why are you not going through it, and why can you not confront that head on?
Marsh: My honest answer is because I've personally moved on. I respect that others probably haven't. But I have, and I hope that's respected. And at the start of the summer, it's a really important one for us, we've got a great summer coming up. And it's my responsibility now, in this moment, to lead this group, a pretty inexperienced side.
At one point in the press conference, Cricket Australia's press officer intervened and said: "I think Mitch has covered that, mate. I've got 30 other people, has anyone else got a question?"
READ NEXT: Joe Root's answer about Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate claim speaks volumes as new allegations emerge
What Cricket Australia have said about new Sandpapergate claims
Cricket Australia investigated Sandpapergate in 2018 and sanctioned Smith, Warner and Bancroft respectively with bans from cricket. They have denied any suggestion that they will re-open that investigation in light of Khawaja's claims.
Chairman David Boon told The Australian on Thursday that Australian cricket's governing body still has full confidence on Pat Cummins, who also played in the Cape Town Test, to continue in his position as red-ball captain.
"We absolutely support Pat," said Boon, a former Australia international cricketer with over 13,000 runs. "He's been an exemplary captain, he's led the team with integrity and, you know, very successfully over the period of time that he's been captain, so there's no question of our confidence in him continuing on in that fact."
Ryan Smart
