Harry Brook says he has 'never seen' ball tampering as sandpapergate resurfaces

England captain Harry Brook has firmly stated that he has never witnessed ball tampering during his international career, after the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal was thrust back into the spotlight by Usman Khawaja's newly released autobiography. Brook made the remarks ahead of the first ODI between England and Australia at Perth Stadium on November 12, 2026, with the eight-match white-ball series set to get under way at the venue.

Khawaja's autobiography, titled 'Sabr', was released on November 10, 2026, and contained claims that the entire Australian team was aware of sandpaper being used on the ball during the Cape Town Test at Newlands Cricket Ground in March 2018. He further alleged that sandpaper had been used in the previous Test at Port Elizabeth as well, significantly widening the scope of what was previously understood about the incident.

"I’ve never seen any ball tampering before. I wasn’t in that (Australia) dressing room. I think I was about 17 or 18 years old, so I was completely oblivious to any of that stuff. But we’re here in Australia, we’re looking forward to this series and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and getting ourselves as ready as possible. We’re just trying to concentrate on ourselves at the minute. That’s all we can do. We’re here to play against a strong Australian side in their backyard," Brook said in the pre-match press conference, as quoted by The Independent.

How did the 2018 sandpaper scandal unfold?

Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball on March 24, 2018, during that Cape Town Test. Following a Cricket Australia inquiry, Bancroft received a nine-month ban from domestic cricket, while David Warner was handed a twelve-month ban from international cricket and Steve Smith also faced sanctions.

David Warner subsequently endorsed Khawaja's account, saying everything in the book was '100% accurate'. Despite the renewed attention, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg confirmed that the governing body would not be reopening its 2018 investigation in light of the book's revelations. Joe Root, whose first captaincy reign coincided with the original sandpaper saga, brushed off comments about tampering being commonplace among international teams during that time period.

"I can only speak from my own experiences and that’s not how I feel, no," Root said to the local press, via the aforementioned source.

What is the state of England's squad and recent form heading into the Perth ODI?

England's recent record in Western Australia also provides a sobering backdrop, with the side having lost a Test inside two days on their previous visit, being bowled out across overs 32.5 and 34.4 respectively. Australia's white-ball captain Mitch Marsh will lead the hosts at Perth Stadium, the same venue where the most recent Ashes series began.

"Australia against England is always a good series and we’re looking forward to kickstarting it. We’re very happy to be out here. We’re all really raring to go here at Optus Stadium, which is where the last Ashes started. It’s an amazing place to play cricket – the atmosphere when we played here was unbelievable," Brook said.

The Three Lions will be without seamer Josh Tongue, who picked up a toe injury, and have been dealt a further blow with the setback to Jacob Bethell, who has been out of action with a knee injury since July. He underwent surgery in September and was in line to feature in the series, but has flown back to England for scans after experiencing discomfort during a practice session. Brook expressed disappointment over the all-rounder's absence.

"It’s very disappointing and I know how hard he’s [Bethell] worked over the last few months to try to get back. I’m very disappointed for him, everybody is, and he’s a little bit upset at the moment, but hopefully he’ll be back as quick as possible," Brook added.