MITCHELL JOHNSON: Aussie team looks fractured amid ‘s--tfight’ as sandpaper fallout continues

A few days ago I asked why Usman Khawaja chose now to tell his sandpaper story. I still don’t love the timing. But you can be right and wrong at the same time.

Wrong, because this should have been dealt with eight years ago, and the moment to back Cameron Bancroft was back in 2021, when he hinted the bowlers knew.

Right, because Usman is telling his truth, and I can see why he would. Cricket Australia’s investigation was never sufficient.

This is a s--tfight, and it’s not letting up any time soon.

Everyone has their side. Does that make it fact? David Warner says Usman’s version is “100 per cent accurate” and he stands with his “brother”, but what is he 100 per cent accurate about exactly? Chadd Sayers backs Khawaja too.

The ‘big four’ bowlers deny it. There hasn’t been a new statement from the four of them.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon have stuck together from day one. They played in that Cape Town Test, so I can see why they spoke together. But why weren’t the other bowlers in that squad - blokes such as Sayers, Jhye Richardson and Mitch Marsh - part of it?

All four who signed the 2021 denial letter have a New South Wales connection. I don’t know if that means anything. It just looks fractured, like a team within a team.

I watched Usman on the ABC’s 7.30 on Tuesday night. He wouldn’t answer the question on Cummins or name who knew, but really he has, by saying the whole team and support staff. Not naming specific players is one thing. Not answering raises more questions.

You are responsible for your actions. If it was three players, it should have been owned eight years ago. If it was the whole team, it should have been owned eight years ago.

Integrity is sticking to what’s right even when it costs you, and nobody’s watching. Honesty is telling the truth and not hiding it, even when it’s uncomfortable. If Usman’s right, that group failed at both.

Anyone around the game wants answers. Don’t the fans deserve the truth? If there’s more to this, those involved should be made accountable. But I can’t be sure we’ll ever know. We can only guess and believe what we’re told and pick that apart.

This is a complete mess. There are so many questions, and I’m confused why this has become so difficult. In my opinion, it’s ruining cricket in this country, if it hadn’t already.

I don’t like the commentary about culture, or sports journalists and some former players saying everyone cheats. That’s fine, have your opinion, but back it up. For me, that’s not true. Show me where, when and how, and give me the evidence. Stop with the blanket comments.

I played 73 Tests for Australia and never used or saw sandpaper on a cricket ball. I never saw it in the team I played with, and I never used or saw players use fingernails or scratch the ball.

I don’t know what the culture was like under coach Darren Lehmann after I retired. I do know what it was like when I was in it. I was never instructed to win at all costs or cheat. No bowling coach ever told me to win at all costs, or damage the ball for our benefit to get reverse swing.

I remember being able to stand up for myself and stand on my values and my integrity. It’s frustrating that I have to speak about this and defend myself and others I played with.

If you did it, own up to it, take your punishment and move on. You made a choice. Stop with the excuses about other teams doing it. So what? Be your own person, speak up, and take the responsibility.

I personally loved beating teams that we may have thought were doing something with the ball. And again, there was never proof; I never personally saw someone do it from the opposition. If that’s what others wanted to do to win, good on them, they have to live with that. I had to live by my values and my integrity.

I would honestly rather not be writing about this. I’d rather be pumping the ODI series up with some new faces in the Australian team. Opportunities for some talented Aussie cricketers showing us that there is life after the big names that are sitting out.

The rebuild of the Aussie ODI team is really exciting. It will be a great test to see where they are at against a confident England bashers unit, an aggressive and well performed short-form team.

We all want to move on. But we can’t move on from something that was never properly owned.

Tell the truth, take the hit together, and let the game get back to cricket. Or was the truth already told eight years ago? I’m not certain it was.