Langer backs Cummins after captain hits back at Khawaja over Sandpaper-gate claims

Former Australia head coach Justin Langer has backed Pat Cummins after the Australia captain rejected Usman Khawaja's claims about the 2018 Sandpaper-gate scandal. Langer said Cummins was right to speak out but urged Australian cricket to put the controversy behind it, saying the renewed debate was hurting players and supporters alike.

Cummins addressed the issue during a 69-minute press conference on Friday after Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, brought the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal back into focus. The Australia captain denied having any prior knowledge of the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the Test in March 2018.

He also strongly rejected Khawaja's suggestion that the entire Australian team knew about the incident, calling it "complete and utter nonsense."

Speaking on SEN Radio while commentating on the opening ODI between Australia and England in Perth, Langer said Cummins had been right to address the claims.

"I think he did what he had to do. They're strong leaders; they stand up and it's obviously turned into a crisis point again. There was a great crisis eight years ago and the way it's been reopened this week, there's a crisis in Australian cricket," Langer said.LANGER URGES AUSTRALIA TO MOVE ON

Langer said the fallout from the scandal was affecting more than just the players involved. He called on Australian cricket to draw a line under the episode and move forward.

"There's too many people being hurt in Australian cricket, and that includes the Australian public. It's about the fans, it's about the players, it's about everyone who's involved, the past players, the present players, future players. We have to draw a line in the sand somewhere," he said.

He admitted it remained to be seen whether Cummins' press conference would help settle the matter.

"Too many people are getting hurt, Australian cricket's being hurt, and whether the press conference is going to help that, or hinder it, time will tell," Langer added.

Australia's white-ball captain Mitchell Marsh had also made it clear on Thursday that he did not want to revisit the scandal. Marsh said he had moved on and respected the decision of others to share their accounts, but had no plans to tell his own story at this stage.

"There's 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. My honest answer is I've moved on. I respect that others probably haven't, but I have. And I hope that's respected. This is my choice not to go back there. Who knows maybe I will write a book one day," Marsh said.

Langer backed Marsh's position, saying the white-ball captain had also made his stance clear.

"And the captain stood up. Mitch Marsh stood up yesterday, and hopefully that'll put some sort of line in the sand, because we have to move on it," he said.WARNER CRITICISES CUMMINS

Not everyone agreed with the way Cummins handled the issue. Former Australia opener David Warner, who was among the players banned after the Cape Town scandal, criticised the Test captain for his comments about Khawaja.

Speaking on Fox Sports, Warner said he was very disappointed with Cummins and accused him of throwing his former teammate under the bus.

The ball-tampering scandal took place during the third Test between Australia and South Africa in Cape Town in March 2018. Cricket Australia banned then captain Steve Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their roles in the incident, with suspensions ranging from nine months to a year.

Khawaja's autobiography has brought the episode back into public discussion, prompting fresh reactions from some of the biggest names in Australian cricket.- Ends