England captain Harry Brook has chosen to stay out of the fresh controversy surrounding Australia’s 2018 ball-tampering scandal, stating that he has never witnessed any form of ball tampering during his international career. With Usman Khawaja‘s autobiography bringing the infamous Sandpapergate episode back into the spotlight, Brook made it clear that he had no direct knowledge of what happened in the Australian dressing room.The England skipper was speaking ahead of the first ODI against Australia at Perth Stadium on Friday when he was asked about the renewed debate surrounding the Cape Town Test against South Africa in March 2018. Brook pointed out that he was only around 17 or 18 at the time and was not involved in the events that shook Australian cricket.“I’ve never seen any ball tampering before. I wasn’t in that (Australia) dressing room. I think I was about 17 or 18 years old, so I was completely oblivious to any of that stuff,” Brook said during the pre-match press conference, as quoted by The Independent.Rather than commenting further on the allegations and revelations from eight years ago, Brook preferred to shift the focus towards England’s upcoming white-ball challenge. He stressed that his team needed to concentrate on its preparations for a demanding series against Australia on their home turf.“We’re here in Australia, we’re looking forward to this series, and all we can do is concentrate on ourselves and getting ourselves as ready as possible. We’re just trying to concentrate on ourselves at the minute. That’s all we can do. We’re here to play against a strong Australian side in their backyard,” he added.Khawaja‘s autobiography reignites Sandpapergate debateThe controversy returned to the headlines following the publication of excerpts from Khawaja’s recently released autobiography. The former Australia opener claimed that the entire team knew about the use of sandpaper during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 2018.Khawaja also alleged that the ball-tampering tactic had been employed during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth, now known as Gqeberha, adding another dimension to the long-running controversy.Former Australia opener David Warner subsequently supported Khawaja’s revelations. Warner was among the players punished following the scandal, receiving a one-year ban from international cricket and a lifetime leadership ban. The latter restriction was overturned in 2024.Brook excited about Perth challengeAway from the controversy, Brook expressed enthusiasm about leading England into the opening ODI, particularly at a venue that holds positive memories for him from the previous Ashes contest.The England captain described the Australia-England rivalry as a special one and said his team was eager to get the series underway at Optus Stadium.“Australia against England is always a good series, and we’re looking forward to kickstarting it. We’re very happy to be out here. We’re all really raring to go here at Optus Stadium, which is where the last Ashes started. It’s an amazing place to play cricket. The atmosphere when we played here was unbelievable,” he said.With the opening encounter set to take place in Perth, Brook’s immediate attention remains on the cricket, despite the renewed scrutiny surrounding one of the most controversial episodes in Australia’s cricketing history.
