Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has opened up about the “ugly underbelly” within the Australian team during the infamous 2018 series against South Africa.
Cummins on Friday spoke publicly for the first time since former long-time teammate Usman Khawaja claimed the entire team - not just Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steve Smith - knew about the plan to tamper with the ball in the third Test in Cape Town in 2018.
A candid Cummins said he was prepared to answer questions “all day,” but never wanted to discuss the topic ever again, saying he was deeply disappointed by Khawaja’s allegations.
He said that Khawaja’s claims were “100 per cent wrong”, but he also used the press conference to talk about the culture within the Test team that led to sandpaper being used to tamper the ball.
“Today I’ll talk as Australian captain right now but also talk about the 24-year-old young guy and his recollections playing my 13th Test back in 2018,” Cummins said.
“In a team that at that stage I think had a win-at-all cost mentality. And an ugly underbelly, and there was too many silos within the team. Traits that I hope that everyone has seen and I try very hard to eradicate for the last six years as captain.”
The fallout from the sandpaper scandal led to a review into the Australian team, with Cummins aiming to change the culture of the team since becoming captain.
“My memories of coming back into that side was there was parts I didn’t really think was OK,” he said.
“I thought that the way we acted on the field was quite abrasive. I didn’t like the way we spoke to umpires, the opposition. I think there was a bit of an arrogance and a bit of an ugliness at times that didn’t sit well with me as a young guy.
“And now I’m captain, I have spent a lot of time making sure that that’s not the case with this current Aussie team. And, sorry, I think we have been absolutely brilliant since 2018.”
Cummins also said the Australian team was in a “better place” because of the changes it went through after the scandal.
He said players had told him how much they enjoyed being part of the team, and “it means more to me than any win”.
“I can finish my captaincy and have my players say they felt like they could be themselves and the team, for me it doesn’t get any better than that.”
He said cricket was in a better place since the use of “dark arts” to tamper with balls was over.
“There were many things that were shady and I think it’s much better now that a lot of that shadiness is gone.”
Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.
Sign up for our emails