Club on front foot over sledge scandal
CRICKET: David Warner’s wife says the suspended Test batsman left the field in a Sydney grade match on Saturday because he was concerned where “very hurtful” comments could lead.
The drama surrounding Warner’s walk-off continued yesterday, as opponents Western Suburbs leapt to the defence of Jason Hughes, the older brother of the late Phillip Hughes.
In a statement, they insisted there had been no abuse or barrage of sledges directed at Warner, and a “brief exchange” between Hughes and the banned Test star was not abusive and had nothing to do with Phillip.
Warner scored his second century of the summer for RandwickPetersham while on a 12-month ban from elite cricket in Australia, but his 157 was overshadowed by his temporary walkoff.
Yesterday Warner’s wife Candice suggested her husband left the field early in his innings at Pratten Park to defuse a situation he was concerned could turn uglier.
“He left the field because first of all he didn’t like what he was hearing and where that could have been taken,” Candice Warner told the Nine Network’s Sports Sunday.
“It was hurtful, it was very hurtful.”
Asked if the comments were “abusive”, she said: “I personally would put it into that category but I’m talking for myself.”
Warner has a reputation as a sledger in international cricket but his wife claimed this went too far.
“Everyone has their own opinion but there is a difference between sledging and abuse,” she said.
“I’m not going to go into the details but David was taken aback by the comments and thought they went a little bit too far, so he decided to remove himself from the game.”
Warner and axed Test captain Steve Smith are playing for their Sydney grade clubs amid 12-month bans from elite cricket for their roles in March’s sandpaper balltampering scandal in the Cape Town Test.
No official reports have been made about the weekend incident from either team or the umpires and it’s therefore not expected to become the subject of a judiciary hearing.
“There was no barrage of sledges aimed at David Warner by any WSDCC player,” Western Suburbs said in a statement yesterday.
“There was a brief exchange between Jason Hughes and David Warner. This exchange had nothing to do with Phil Hughes.
“This exchange was not vicious or abusive as alleged in some sections of the media.”
Warner was friends with Phillip Hughes, who died after being struck while batting for South Australia against NSW in a Sheffield Shield match in 2014.