Support Aussies: Warner

Suspended opener urges public to get behind struggling team

CRICKET: Banned opener David Warner has urged Australians to get behind the country’s cricket team as they attempt to emerge out of one of the darkest periods in the game’s history.

Australia’s win over South Africa on Friday night was their first in eight oneday internationals, and the Aussies’ winning rate since Warner’s fateful involvement in the ball-tampering scandal was just 25 per cent across all formats heading into yesterday’s clash in Hobart.

Warner and ex-captain Steve Smith are suspended until the end of March and Cameron Bancroft until the end of next month, and several executives and directors and coach Darren Lehmann have since fallen on their swords following the drama and subsequent review.

But Warner asked fans not to give up on the team through this trying period.

“We’ve got to keep on trying to be positive and pump them up because they’re trying their hardest,” Warner said in a rare interview on the weekend.

“It’s quite challenging when you’re in a team, when both teams are working out their combinations for next year’s World Cup.

“Yeah, we’re losing a couple of games, but they had a tough win (on Friday) night, and to be positive and try and pump the boys up is the most important thing from where we sit right now.

“They’re training their backsides off to win games. If we can be a bit more positive in what we do, it will help them go a long away.”

Warner and Smith faced off in Sydney Grade Cricket at the weekend, the first time they have been on the field together since March’s dramatic South Africa tour, with both failing to capitalise on starts before a big crowd at Coogee Oval.

They will both be available for next year’s one-day World Cup in England, where the Aussies will attempt to defend their title.

However, Australia have slipped to

No.6 in the world rankings..

“There are a lot of things there to work on for next year,” Warner said.