Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins and his wife, Becky, were photographed having an animated discussion on a Sydney street on Wednesday, hours before she shared an affectionate family photograph on social media.
Images published by News Corp showed the couple standing beside their car during an exchange that reportedly lasted about five minutes before they entered a nearby property.
Cummins was barefoot during the encounter and was seen pacing around and leaning against the vehicle, while Becky appeared to do most of the talking.
The cricketer’s management declined to comment on the incident.
Becky Shares Affectionate Photograph With Husband
Despite the public exchange, Becky later posted a photograph of herself with Cummins and their daughter, Edith, on her Instagram Story.
In the image, Becky rested her head against her husband as he held their daughter, whose face was concealed from view.
She tagged Cummins and accompanied the photograph with the caption, “My loves”.
The social media post came as the Australian captain faced renewed attention over allegations surrounding the country’s 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Cummins Announces Press Conference Over Khawaja’s Allegations
Cummins has invited journalists to question him about former Australian batter Usman Khawaja’s claims concerning the Sandpapergate scandal.
The captain announced that he would address the media at 9.30am on Friday at Cricket Central, saying he had taken time to understand the allegations before responding.
“Happy to speak with any and all media about the events of this week at 9.30am,” Cummins said.
“I’ve taken some time to try and better understand the long list and full extent of Uzzy’s allegations so I can respond properly.”
Khawaja’s autobiography, Sabr, released on Tuesday, has reignited questions about how many members of the Australian team knew about the ball-tampering activities during the 2018 tour of South Africa.
Khawaja Claims Entire Australian Team Knew About Sandpaper Incident
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald ahead of his book’s release, Khawaja alleged that knowledge of the ball-tampering extended beyond Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft, the three players who received sanctions following the Cape Town Test in March 2018.
Bancroft was caught using sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during the third Test.
Smith and Warner were subsequently handed 12-month suspensions, with both losing their leadership positions. Bancroft received a nine-month ban.
Khawaja claimed that the incident was known across the Australian team, rather than being limited to the three players who were punished.
“It was all of us. Not the batters, not the bowlers, not the staff. All of us,” he told the newspaper.
His allegations have brought renewed attention to the team’s bowling group at the time, which included Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon.
Starc Rejects Knowledge of Port Elizabeth Incident
The four Australian bowlers previously issued a joint statement in 2021 denying knowledge that a foreign substance had been taken onto the field to change the ball’s condition during the Cape Town Test.
Starc reiterated his position on Wednesday when questioned about Khawaja’s claims that sandpaper had also been used during the preceding Test in Port Elizabeth.
“Yeah, that’s the first I was aware of any of that taking place in PE… was when [Khawaja said it]… I’ll leave that for said authors to explain,” Starc said.
His response followed Khawaja’s allegations that the practice was not restricted to the Cape Town match.
Warner Throws Support Behind Khawaja
Former Australian opening batter David Warner has publicly backed Khawaja’s account, saying the claims were accurate.
Warner, who received a 12-month suspension following the 2018 scandal, said he had not spoken about the issue for eight years.
“It’s been eight years since I’ve spoken on this topic and Uzzie, I throw my full support behind you,” he said.
“I thank you for what you’ve done. It’s 100 per cent accurate what you’ve said. Everyone knows the truth. It’s out there. People wanted to know it.”
Khawaja Refuses to Elaborate on Bowlers’ Involvement
Khawaja faced further questions about his allegations during an appearance on ABC’s 7.30 programme.
Asked whether he was frustrated that members of the bowling group had not acknowledged knowing about the use of sandpaper, he maintained that he had already explained what he witnessed during the previous Test.
“I’ll say again, I’ve given my statement about what happened the game before,” he said.
“I was very open and honest to what I saw and what conversations I had.”
He added that some details in his account were deliberately specific while others were less precise because he was trying to tell a story.
When pressed further about the bowlers, Khawaja declined to provide additional details.
“I’m just not going… I’m not going to entertain that,” he said.
“I’m not going to really speak on any more of it at this moment.”
He also acknowledged that he was uncertain about the potential impact of the controversy on his friendship with Cummins.
Khawaja Says He Is Not Targeting Former Teammates
Khawaja described Cummins and several other members of the Australian team as close friends, insisting that his intention was not to pursue a campaign against them.
“I’ve told my truth, and I’d give him my reasons,” he said.
“Pat Cummins is a good friend of mine. Mitchell Starc, a lot of these guys, players in the team, Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, are all very good friends of mine. I’m not here to go on a witch hunt.”
Khawaja subsequently cancelled several scheduled media appearances, including an interview with Seven News, although he denied cancelling his book tour.
Cricket Australia Opposes Reopening Investigation
Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg has opposed reopening the investigation into the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
Greenberg said there would be “absolutely no benefit” in revisiting the investigation.
It has also been reported that Cricket Australia chairman David Boon has backed Cummins and assured him that his position as national captain remains secure.
Cummins Previously Said Team Had Moved On
Before Khawaja’s latest allegations became public, Cummins had maintained that the team had already addressed the scandal and answered questions about it repeatedly.
Speaking ahead of Australia’s recent tour of South Africa, he said the investigations had been completed at the time and the matter had been dealt with.
“It’s obviously a long time ago. All the investigations, everything was done back then. Answered every question a million times,” he said.
“It was dealt with then. All I can say is, as a group, we’ve moved on.”
Cummins also revealed that Khawaja had given him some advance notice about the contents of his autobiography, although he said the former batter had not provided extensive details.
“He didn’t go into too much detail… As always it was ‘no worries, you can tell your story, that’s fine’,” he said.
The Australian captain is now expected to address the latest allegations directly when he meets reporters on Friday.
