Warner walks off after ‘hurtful’ comments

DAV ID War ner wa l ked of f mid-i n n i ngs i n a Syd ne y g rade ga me a f ter “hur t f u l” comments from the brother of ex-Test tea mmate Phi l lip Hughes, who died after being hit by a ball, his wife claimed on Sunday.

The former Austra lia v icec apt a i n, who i s s er v i ng a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal, was batting for his club Randw ick-Petersha m at t he time on Saturday.

He lef t t he f ield on 35 but returned short ly af ter wards follow ing t he inter vention of tea mmates, a nd went on to score a majestic 157.

Candice Warner sa id t hat Jason Hughes – the brother of Phillip, whose tragic death in 2014 rocke d t he s por t i ng world – was t he culprit.

“Look, I’m not going to go into the details. However, 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,” she told Channel Nine.

Cricket Austra lia’s website claimed that what started as goading f rom Hughes soon turned personal and Warner – who has a f ierce on-f ield reputation – decided to leave before it esca lated.

Sydney’s Daily Telegraph alleged that Hughes called Warner “a disgrace” and “weak” and claimed one witness heard a direct reference to Phillip Hughes’s death.

But Hughes’ club Western Suburbs denied any abuse was hurled and defended him.

“There was no barrage of sledges aimed ed at David Warner by any WSDCC player,” it said. d.

“There was s a brief exchange between ween Jason Hughes s and Dav i d Wa r ne r. T h i s e x c h a n g e had nothing to do w it h Ph i l Hug hes. This exchange e was not vicious or abusive sive as alleged in some sections ctions of the media.”

Warner’s wife insisted the comments were ere in the abuse category.

“He removed ed himself firstly because he didn’t idn’t like what he was hearing and where that could’ve been n taken. It was hurtful, ver y hurtful,” she said.

Randwick-Petersham Petersham first- grade manager Bill Anderson told The Telegraph Warn Warner felt the comment comments were “very offensive t to him”.

“He wasn’t teary teary. But you coul could tell he had bee been quite affecte affected by t h a t . I t w a s n’t a h e a t e d exchange exchange. I t w a s s o m e - thing sai said i n c l os e ra nge, nge,” h e said.

Warner was fielding on November 25, 2014, when Phillip Hughes was struck by a bouncer bowled by Sean Abbott during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Hughes, 25, later died from bleeding on the brain.

At the inquest, Warner said Hughes had been one of his “closest mates” and he missed him every day.

Warner (pictured, AFP), along with Steve Smith, was sent home in disgrace and banned over the tampering scandal during the third Test in South Africa in March.

Two reviews prompted by the scandal – one focusing on the culture within Cricket Australia and the other into the team – are due to be released on Monday.