Root declines comment on Khawaja’s ball-tampering claims

Joe Root declined to comment on Usman Khawaja’s renewed allegations about Australia’s 2018 ball-tampering scandal, saying England’s attention is on its three-match one-day international series against Australia, which begins in Perth on November 13.

Asked about the claims ahead of the series, Root said he did not know what happened in the Australian dressing room and did not want to speculate. He also said his own experience did not lead him to believe England had illegally altered the ball. Root’s comments do not resolve the dispute over how widely knowledge of Australia’s actions extended.

Khawaja says in his autobiography, Sabr, that the whole Australian team knew of the plan behind the ball-tampering during the 2018 Cape Town Test against South Africa. He has also alleged that similar tactics were used in earlier matches, including during the 2017-18 Ashes series. These remain Khawaja’s allegations, rather than a new finding from an inquiry.

Cricket Australia punished Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft after they admitted ball-tampering in Cape Town. Warner has publicly supported Khawaja’s account. Mitchell Starc and former coach Darren Lehmann have denied knowing...