Australia captain Pat Cummins will break his silence on Friday, facing the media in Sydney to answer Usman Khawaja's fresh ball-tampering allegations that have reopened the 2018 sandpaper scandal.

Cummins announced on X on Thursday that he will speak to reporters at 9.30am on Friday at Cricket Central, before New South Wales play their Sheffield Shield match against Western Australia. He said he had taken time to understand the "long list and full extent of Uzzy's allegations so I can respond properly".

What Khawaja has claimed

Khawaja's memoir, Sabr, released on 10 November, alleges that the whole Australian team knew about the sandpaper plot during the 2018 tour of South Africa, and that sandpaper was also used in the second Test at Gqeberha before Cameron Bancroft was caught with it in Cape Town. He also alleges the ball was altered during the 2017-18 Ashes at home by lifting the quarter-seam.

Only Steve Smith, David Warner and Bancroft were punished after the Cape Town Test. Warner has since backed Khawaja's account, while Mitchell Starc said the Gqeberha claim was the first he had heard of it. Cricket Australia has ruled out a new investigation into the affair.

Why Cummins is under pressure

Cummins was part of the 2018 touring party, and he, Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon issued a joint statement in 2021 denying prior knowledge of a foreign substance being taken onto the field. Khawaja cancelled his book tour this week after an awkward ABC 7:30 appearance in which he declined to elaborate on the bowlers' role.

Rested from the white-ball series against England starting on Friday in Perth, Cummins will use the Sydney press conference as his first public response to a week of mounting questions. Read more at DAZN and Nation Press.