// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
Australian cricket's sandpapergate is back - and it cuts deep in a 'nation of good sports'
Pat Cummins spent over an hour fielding questions over sandpapergate on Friday
As Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins spent more than an hour being grilled by reporters over one of sport's biggest cheating scandals, the tension in the hall was occasionally pierced by muffled cheers.
Outside, a crucial match in the top tier of domestic cricket was getting under way. Cummins was clear he'd rather we all be talking about that.
But inside the nets at Cricket Central in Sydney, he faced more than a dozen TV cameras and a gaggle of journalists several times as large. His goal: to put rumours of his involvement in "sandpapergate" to rest.
"I don't want to talk about this again after today," he said. "Even if it takes all day... I'll stay here until we have no more questions."
A book by his friend and former teammate Usman Khawaja has renewed scrutiny on a 2018 plot to tamper with the ball using sandpaper in Australia's third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town.
Three players admitted they were involved at the time and were handed lengthy bans, but in a memoir released last week, Khawaja said the entire Australian team knew about the sandpaper scheme.
His claims have plunged the Australian cricket world into chaos, thrown speculation over key figures from that Test - including star bowler Cummins who has since risen to hold what many joke is Australia's most important job - and reopened wounds for fans.
Josh, 28, told the BBC he thought everyone had moved on: "It's just a bit crazy that it's all blown up again... I think it is a bit ridiculous, after eight years."
"I'm a bit bored of it," another spectator at the New South Wales vs South Australia Sheffield Shield match said.