ICC match referee Chris Broad has slammed former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann over his alleged hypocrisy during the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. David Warner has backed Broad's criticism, agreeing with his remarks about Lehmann's role in the ball-tampering controversy.
Usman Khawaja's autobiography, Sabr, has brought the Sandpapergate controversy back into focus. The left-handed batter also claimed that Australia used an unconventional method to alter the ball during the 2017-18 Ashes series, months before the scandal in South Africa.
David Warner Backs Chris Broad's 'Very Angry' Attack on Darren Lehmann
Chris Broad, who is also the father of former England fast bowler Stuart Broad, questioned Darren Lehmann's claim that he had no knowledge of the ball-tampering plan in Cape Town. Speaking on Track Radio, he said the former coach should have faced scrutiny for what happened under his watch.
"I'm very angry at Darren Lehmann. Darren Lehmann surely knew all about it (ball tampering), and if he didn't, he shouldn't have been the coach at the time," Broad said.
"And I think he's got away lightly because, OK, he left his job a few months later, but he didn't get any sanctions," Broad added.
David Warner expressed his support for Broad in a comment on X, agreeing with the former England batter's criticism of Lehmann. He wrote: "I couldn't agree more and that's hard for me to say!"
@wearetrackradio @StuartBroad8 @markpougatch I couldn’t agree more and that’s hard for me to say!
— David Warner (@davidwarner31) November 10, 2026
Chris Broad Revisits Darren Lehmann's 'Blatant Cheat' Remark Against Stuart Broad
During the Trent Bridge Test in the 2013 Ashes, Stuart Broad remained at the crease after edging a delivery to first slip. Darren Lehmann responded by calling the England pacer a "blatant cheat".
The former Australia coach also urged home supporters to target Stuart during the return Ashes series and make him "cry and go home". Chris Broad believes Lehmann's comments from that series make his response to the 2018 scandal difficult to accept.
"There he was in 2013, taking the moral high ground against my son, where he played the Australian game of nicking the ball and waiting for the umpire to give him out... and then came out in the media saying 'we're going to make him cry when he comes to Australia next,'" Broad said.
"And here he is, the coach of the Australian cricket team that brought sandpaper out onto the field of play and denied any knowledge of this happening. I'm very angry at Darren Lehmann in this respect," he added.
Usman Khawaja Reveals Australia's Ball-Tampering Method During 2017-18 Ashes
In his autobiography, Usman Khawaja detailed how Australia worked on the ball during the 2017-18 Ashes. The team did not use sandpaper against England but reportedly found a way to lift the flaps along the ball's quarter-seam to generate reverse swing.
Khawaja described the method in Sabr, explaining how it helped the team get the ball to move late in the innings.
"We were reverse swinging it late on day five," Khawaja wrote. "Actually, we were reverse swinging the ball the game before too - except it was much tougher, because it was the pink ball.
"But we - and I say 'we', because we were a team, whether you did the deed or not - had worked out that, if we raised the flaps up on the quarter seam on that ball, it was almost like it had a rudder on it and it'd start reverse swinging."
Australia generated reverse swing during the third Test in Perth, which they won late on the fifth day to regain the Ashes. The series took place just months before the 2018 Cape Town Test, where Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were sanctioned for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal.
Also read: "100 per cent accurate": David Warner backs Usman Khawaja's Sandpapergate claims
