Australia captain Mitch Marsh declined to address questions about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal on Thursday in Perth, redirecting focus to the upcoming white-ball series against England starting Friday. Marsh's press conference came days after former teammate Usman Khawaja claimed in an autobiography that the entire Australian squad knew about the plan to use sandpaper on the ball during the Cape Town test match. Three players received lengthy bans following the incident, which has resurfaced as the dominant story heading into the three-ODI and five-T20 series.
Test captain Pat Cummins planned a separate news conference in Sydney to address the scandal after taking time to understand Khawaja's allegations. Steve Smith and David Warner, the captain and vice-captain during the 2018 series, each received 12-month bans. Cameron Bancroft, who was caught using sandpaper on the ball, was banned for nine months.
Australia's white-ball squad will be without pace bowlers Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Scott Boland, who are rested before upcoming test series against New Zealand and India. Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and 21-year-old Mahli Beardman will lead the bowling attack in the series beginning Friday in Perth.
