Bancroft aims to move on as Khawaja's autobiography revives 2018 ball-tampering claims

Western Australia coach Beau Casson said Cameron Bancroft is eager to "move on and let his bat do the talking" after former teammate Usman Khawaja disclosed new details about the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in his forthcoming autobiography, Sabr. Khawaja claims Bancroft volunteered to use sandpaper on the ball during the second Test at Gqeberha, a match that led to a nine-month ban for Bancroft and sanctions for Steven Smith and David Warner after a Cricket Australia investigation.

Extracts published by News Corp quote Khawaja describing how the ball was collected near the boundary and how Bancroft, then six games into his Test career, offered to apply the sandpaper. Khawaja says he sent Bancroft a copy of the chapter detailing the incident.

Bancroft, who returned to domestic cricket and scored 32 off 40 balls for Western Australia in a one-day match against England, was praised by Casson, who added, "> The situation's a long time ago. I think he's keen to move on and let his bat do the talking. You can't control everything. The way he's handled it, over the past couple of weeks, and over the years gone by, it speaks volumes of the way he's done that. He certainly sets the example of how to go about being a professional cricketer."

The former Test opener, who briefly rejoined the national side for two Ashes matches in 2019, has not played international cricket since. He continues to perform in the Sheffield Shield, scoring a 186 in a recent win for Western Australia, but acknowledges his chances of returning to the Australian Test team are limited.

Khawaja's revelations revive public interest in the 2018 incident, which previously saw former captain Steve Smith and David Warner also sanctioned. The new claims come as Bancroft remains a prolific run-scorer at state level but faces an uncertain future in international cricket.