Warner dodges Ashes cheat claims
DAVID WARNER has admitted his international career could be over — and refused to deny he had tampered with the ball before the Australians were caught in the act at Cape Town.
During a heavily scripted 10-minute press conference in Sydney, Australia’s deposed vice-captain repeatedly took refuge in his pledge to ‘take full responsibility’ for his part in the cheating scandal that led to year-long bans for him and captain Steve Smith, a nine-month ban for opening batsman Cameron Bancroft, and the resignation of head coach Darren Lehmann.
Warner would not be drawn on whether more than three players had been involved in the plot to rub sandpaper on the ball in the third Test against South Africa, nor whether Australia had cheated before.
Afterwards he acknowledged on Twitter: ‘I know there are unanswered questions and lots of them,’ he said. ‘In time I will do my best to answer them all. But there is a formal process to follow.’
Sportsmail revealed last week that Warner told England players that he had tampered with the ball during his
side’s 4-0 Ashes win — a report that may prove too incendiary for Cricket Australia to handle right now.
Warner, who has been barred from holding a leadership position in Australian cricket again after he instructed Bancroft to use sandpaper, continued on Twitter: ‘I am taking advice to make sure I properly comply with the [Cricket Australia] process and answer all questions in the proper place and at the proper time. I’m sorry for not making it clearer.
‘With so much at stake for my family and cricket, I have to follow this process properly. I think that’s fair.’
Like Bancroft, Smith and Lehmann 48 hours earlier, Warner struggled to control his emotions as he reflected on a week that has changed his life.
‘To the fans and lovers of the game who’ve supported and inspired me on my journey as a cricketer, I want to sincerely apologise for betraying your trust in me,’ he said in the press conference. ‘I have let you down badly.
‘I can honestly say I’ve only ever wanted to bring glory to my country through playing cricket. In striving to do so I have made a decision which has had the opposite effect, and it’s one that I’ll regret for as long as I live. In the back of my mind I suppose there is a tiny ray of hope that I may one day be given the privilege of playing for my country again, but I am resigned to the fact that may never happen.
‘But in the coming weeks and months, I’m going to look at how this has happened and who I am as a man. I will seek advice and expertise to help me make serious changes.’
Like Smith on Thursday, Warner was at his most emotional when mentioning his family. His wife Candice was the subject of some unsavoury comments by South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock during the second Test at Durban, and was then mocked by members of the Newlands crowd.
Warner would not comment on whether his anger over her treatment contributed to him taking part in the tampering.
‘I want to apologise to my family, especially my wife and daughters,’ he said. ‘Your love means more than anything to me. I know I would not be anything without you. I’m very sorry for putting you through this and I promise you that I will never put you in this position again.
‘I take full responsibility for my part in what happened and I am deeply sorry for the consequences of what I was involved in.’