Pat Cummins forced to address 'ridiculous' video with his wife and says cameras were 'chasing' him

Pat Cummins made his disdain clear after footage of the Australia Test captain in an animated discussion with his wife appeared on social media - and said they were not 'having a spat'.

Cummins held a 70-minute press conference on Friday morning (AEDT) to give his reaction to Usman Khawaja's explosive new claims about Sandpapergate in his autobiography.

He had announced he would be appearing at Cricket Central, the home ground of his state side New South Wales, to answer questions. But shortly after that announcement, a video was posted on social media by national media outlet The Australian which showed Cummins having an animated exchange with his wife, Becky, outside their house. The Australia captain understandably wasn't happy that the video was captured, and was asked about it several times during his press conference.

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'It's a bit ridiculous...' - Pat Cummins on viral video with wife

"It's half very comical. Becky wears her heart on her sleeve," Cummins began, when asked about the video. "And then half... it's all a bit ridiculous, isn't it? Like, we're talking about something that was dealt with eight-and-a-half years ago. Now, I'm walking my daughter, my one-year-old daughter, in a nappy out the front. And I've got cameras chasing me and my family. For me, that's a bit ridiculous.

"But, while we're on the topic, because I think it is funny: we were talking, we weren't having a spat. Becky was very frustrated, animated, and really wasn't happy with Usman."

When asked what he was doing at the time of the video, he replied: "It was cardboard week. I couldn't get the bins right this week. I probably won't get a chance for another 12 months!"

"She's always just, 'be honest and tell the details'," Cummins said on the type of conversations he has with his wife. "And put your washing away!

"I've been with Becky since well before that tour, so she's seen everything. She lives it all with me. So she's just saying, 'Show your emotion', because a lot of people here are hurting."

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What else Pat Cummins said in Sandpapergate press conference

In his opening address to the media, Cummins denied any knowledge of Sandpapergate before it happened, stating: "I've taken a bit of time this week to respond to Usman's allegations. I've been trying to understand exactly what those allegations have been - which is why it's taken me a few days.

"When he says we all knew - by that, he means that we knew sandpaper was going out on the field - he is 100 per cent wrong. I've said that consistently for the last eight years. I did not know that was happening.

"But I think Usman says things that are far more serious than that. He says that I, and others, were architects of a scheme to ball-tamper with sandpaper. That's complete and utter nonsense. I was genuinely shocked this week when I found out that Usman had told Cam [Bancroft] to be careful when using sandpaper. That's not the Usman I know. That's not the Usman that I think has been part of a team to help rebuild Australian cricket culture over the past eight years. And the Usman that would have stopped that from happening, there and then.

"Usman's a friend, but friends aren't casual with each other's lives and reputations. In his book, Uzzie's been casual with my lives, and the lives of many others and, I think, Australian cricket. I support his right to tell a story, 100 per cent. I'm really glad that he feels like he can. But we have to be accountable for things we say and do. I'm here, I'm happy to answer all your questions. I'll stay here until you have no more questions. I don't want to talk about this again after today, so even if it takes all day - I've got to bowl at some stage - I'll answer all of them. Because at some point, we have to move on."

He described the Australian team as having a 'win-at-all-costs' mentality at the time of the South Africa series, stating that when he came back into the Test set-up following a long injury absence, he spotted 'parts that I didn't really think were OK'.

"I thought the way we acted on the field was quite abrasive," he said. "I didn't like the way we spoke to umpires, the opposition. I think there was a bit of an arrogance and a bit of ugliness, at times, that didn't sit well with me as a young guy. And now I'm captain, I have spent a lot of time making sure that that's not the case with this current Aussie team. And I think we have been absolutely brilliant since 2018."

He said he had spoken to Steve Smith, the former Australia captain who was one of the three players banned for their involvement in Sandpapergate alongside vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft. Smith is the only one of those players who has not had any public comment on the matter since Khawaja's claims emerged, but Cummins says he wants to 'move on'.

He also attempted to give context on the use of sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball, noting that similar methods are regularly used in training to quickly generate reverse swing, so that batters in the nets can face it.

"We carry sandpaper normally for the batters [their bats], but we use it for balls as well around training," Cummins said. "You face a lot of reverse swing, so the batters want to base it and practice against it in the nets. We scratched balls on concrete... I've seen someone use a Stanley knife. All the methods are very normal around training so, again, I think it comes back to, there must have been a plan.

"Maybe it sounds absurd to take sandpaper on the field but to give more context, it's part of the changing room. We may have been doing it around training, but there is a leap to then think it's OK to take it on to the field. But maybe not perhaps as big a leap as some people may think."