David Warner has fired back at Australia captain Pat Cummins for throwing Usman Khawaja ‘under the bus’.The former opening batsman has defended his ex-team-mate as the fallout from his autobiography continues.Smith has hit back at Cummins’ comments following a fiery press conferenceAFPIn the book, Khawaja claimed all members of the Australia Test side were aware of the sandpaper ball tampering during their tour of South Africa in March 2018.Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera roughing up the side of the ball during the third Test to make the ball swing.Then vice-captain Warner and captain Steve Smith were also found to be involved, with the trio handed significant bans.However, current Test and ODI skipper Cummins dismissed Khawaja’s recollection of the scandal during a press conference on Thursday.Instead, he labelled the claims ‘utter nonsense’ ahead of Australia’s first ODI against England in Perth, which the hosts won by seven wickets.Warner hits back at Cummins claimsWarner has now responded to Cummins’ remarks himself in passionate rant aimed at the fast bowler.Speaking on Fox Sports, the 40-year-old admitted: “Pat Cummins was very well prepared this morning and I still stick by Uzzy and what he’s written in that book.“It is the truth and I really, really support him. I actually feel for him at the moment.“I actually feel that the captain today actually threw Uzzy under the bus and I’m very, very disappointed about that.”Warner continued: “I hadn’t spoken about it in eight years but at the end of the day we’ve got to live with these consequences daily and we’ve been served a life punishment.Cummins dismissed Khawaja’s claims that the entire team knew of the Sandpaper plotAFP“So when other people talk about they’ve been affected by it there’s nothing worse for me, Steve and Cameron who have to walk out there every single day and we cop abuse.“Yes, we accepted it, but at the end of the day my wife and I paid the greatest price, we lost a baby during that time. That’s why it really hurts me the most until the truth is accepted.”Warner’s wife Candace revealed in mid-2018 that she had suffered a miscarriage a week after he gave an emotional press conference upon returning from South Africa.She later shared that she had had another miscarriage that year before the couple welcome the birth of their third child in 2019.‘Sandpapergate’ sanctionsFollowing the ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal, Warner, Bancroft and Smith were all handed significant sanctions by Cricket Australia.Bancroft was banned from all international and domestic cricket for nine months.Cummins and Smith were both part of the squad during the 2018 tour of South AfricaGettyHe was also suspended from consideration for leadership roles for a further year.Smith received a 12-month ban along with a further 12-month suspension from leadership positions.Meanwhile, Warner was handed a 12-month suspension and a permanent ban from leadership roles within the national team.He returned to the Australia squad ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup and featured in the Ashes later that year.Warner ultimately retired from international cricket after the 2024 T20 World Cup.His decision ended a 15-year career with Australia, which included 112 Test matches.