'They cheated,' ‘Everything Australia have ever won is null and void’: Fans react to Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate revelations

'They cheated,' ‘Everything Australia have ever won is null and void’: Fans react to Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate revelations originally appeared on Cricket News . Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . KEY TAKEAWAYS: Usman Khawaja’s startling claims about 2018 Sandpapergate have set social media alight within hours. Fans have demanded harsh action, and some want old Australian records wiped away. A few supporters have also questioned why Khawaja waited eight years to speak. MORE: Sandpapergate at Cape Town, South Africa: Revisiting the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket eight years back 'Steve Smith and David Warner were scapegoats': Cricket world erupts after Usman Khawaja exposes Sandpapergate secrets Usman Khawaja’s Sandpapergate revelations have left cricket fans furious, and a large number of them have turned to social media to say that Australia cheated and should face consequences. The reaction has been fast, loud and, in places, deeply personal, which shows how raw the 2018 scandal still is for supporters around the world. The trigger was Khawaja’s claim, in his autobiography Sabr and in follow-up interviews, that the entire Australian group knew about the plan to use sandpaper on the ball at Cape Town. Khawaja pushed back against the long-held belief that only Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were aware; he said: “It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us.” He has also said that sandpaper was first used by Bancroft in the second Test at Port Elizabeth, a match before the one that blew the story open, and that he was never interviewed by Cricket Australia’s investigator even though he sat next to Bancroft throughout the Test. “I was waiting for my phone to ring,” he said. “It just never rang, and then the penalties were given, and I couldn’t believe it.” Khawaja went further by suggesting that South Africa were “far better” at working on the ball and that his own side were “trying to keep up with” them, a point he says is covered in some detail in the book. That mixture of confession and finger-pointing has given fans plenty to argue about, and the reactions below show how divided and angry the response has been. MORE: Usman Khawaja makes explosive claim about Austalia 'trying to keep up with' South Africa's ball-tampering during Sandpapergate Fans call for Australia’s results to be erased after Khawaja’s Sandpapergate claims The harshest view came from one supporter who argued that the damage reaches back far beyond a single Test match. @CookeeCharlie wrote: “Everything that Aussie team has ever won is null and void unfortunately.” Some fans looked ahead rather than back, and worried about the fallout inside the dressing room. @Jade_Manasse wrote: "I don’t think people quite realize what this is going to do, to Australian cricket. Genuinely could see mass retirements now." @anirudhsriraman called the whole affair “cheap” and wrote: "If anything - this is just cheap. A pioneer cricket team in the world completely destroying the sanctity of the sport and willingly too. And 8 years later when you can afford to take the hit, you come out with the 'truth'? Ridiculous. If this case can be reopened - Ban everyone." MORE: Usman Khawaja's book name, release date as 'explosive' details of Sandpapergate expected @AlexanderC19687 insisted that every Australian bowler should carry an asterisk next to their statistics, writing: “Every single Australian bowler should have an asterisk against their stats. They cheated. The entire team knew about it. And they cheated. They threw their teammates under the bus & they covered it up for 8 years. Scum." @charles_haig01 aimed his sarcasm at Khawaja himself, and wrote: "So Khawaja, a man of extraordinary principle, continued playing for 7 years without disclosing it and decided to do so and throw his former teammates into the fire pit when there was a substantial financial incentive to do so?" Anger is understandable, but fairness still matters in Sandpapergate The fan reaction is easy to understand. Khawaja is a long-serving international cricketer, and if his account is accurate, then supporters were given an incomplete story in 2018. Naturally, people who felt let down would speak up, and the sympathy shown for the banned trio reflects a sense that justice was uneven. Even so, some of the louder demands deserve caution. Calls to erase every Australian win or to ban everyone go well beyond anything Khawaja has actually claimed, and they treat different people as though they carried identical responsibility. MORE: 'Just another series': Steve Smith reacts to returning to South Africa for a Test series for the first time since 'Sandpapergate' Knowing about a plan, taking part in it and being told about it afterwards are not the same thing, and the bowlers have denied knowledge in a joint statement that has not been disproved. The doubts about Khawaja’s timing and motives also deserve a hearing, because it is fair to ask why a former teammate waited eight years. At the same time, a late confession is not automatically a false one, and he has said that he urged the team to share the blame from the start. Cricket Australia has said it remains comfortable with its original findings. The sensible course for supporters is to wait for the full text of Sabr, listen to those who were in the dressing room, and keep judgement in check until the evidence is clearer. For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook , Instagram , and X (Twitter) pages.