Disgraced Aussies Warner and Smith to return against Black Caps

Disgraced Australian cricket duo David Warner and Steve Smith are set to make their return to the national side against New Zealand.

The pair — banned from international cricket for a year after their involvement in the infamous balltampering scandal — are free to play the final two games of next month’s five-match ODI series in the United Arab Emirates, where Australia face Pakistan on March 29 and 31.

However, Smith is highly unlikely to have recovered from an elbow injury in time, and Warner is set to be overlooked by the selectors.

That means that Brisbane — where Australia will play the Black Caps in several World Cup warm-up matches — shapes as the most likely scene of the formal reintegration of the former Australian captain and vice-captain.

The pair are set to make their returns on the world cricket stage in the Indian Premier League, before pulling on the baggy green again in early May.

That would be as part of Australia’s World Cup squad, for a pretournament training camp in Brisbane that will include some practice games against New Zealand.

There were strong arguments for bringing the pair back as soon as possible, which would have given players a chance to heal strained relationships long before turning their attention to the World Cup camp.

But logistics and other factors counted against Warner, who would have been unable to train with teammates until his ban expired.

For the Black Caps, playing a fullstrength Australian side boosted by the return of Smith and Warner would provide some much-needed tough competition ahead of the World Cup.

Wednesday’s third ODI against Bangladesh in Dunedin is their last ODI before the Cup, with players instead having to return to domestic four-day cricket, or the Indian Premier League, as part of their World Cup build-up.

However, by playing against Australia, they should be able to rediscover their ODI touch before heading to England, where they play India and the West Indies in warm-up games the week before the tournament.