Written by Vaibhav Tripathi
David Warner, the veteran Australian opener, has strongly criticised Cricket Australia (CA) for their handling of his appeal to overturn a lifetime leadership ban. Following his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal in Cape Town in March 2018, Warner received a lifetime ban from holding leadership positions, while Steve Smith, then captain, was banned for one year. Warner’s discontent stemmed from CA’s decision to conduct the proceedings publicly, instead of behind closed doors.
In November 2022, Warner initiated a review of his ban on assuming any leadership role. CA modified their player code of conduct policy to allow him to request a review before an independent panel of three code-of-conduct commissioners.
Warner voiced his disappointment with what he perceived as a public “lynching”, believing that the proceedings should have been carried out in private. As a result, he eventually decided to withdraw his appeal, bringing an end to the matter.
“It was ridiculous,” Warner was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald. “I wanted to put it to bed and they kept on just dragging it out and not giving answers. No one wanted to be accountable; no one wanted to make a decision. You have an administration where there seemed to be a lack of leadership.
“They could have nipped it in the bud straight away, but I’m getting a phone call day one, two, three of the Test matches and speaking to lawyers etc when I didn’t need to. I actually felt disrespected in the way that I wasn’t able to actually have a clear mind to play the game and concentrate on the game.”