End of a long week of Aussie tears
Warner knows international spot may be gone
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 10minute 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 coach Darren Lehmann.
Warner would not be drawn into the question of whether more than three players had been involved in the plot to rub sandpaper on the ball on the third afternoon of the third Test against South Africa. And he sidestepped another question about whether he had been scape-goated for the affair.
With journalists not allowed more than one question each, Warner left the room with several issues still hanging in the air – not least whether Australia had cheated before.
That, in turn, will pose further questions about their behaviour during the Ashes. Sportsmail revealed last week that Warner had told England players at an end-of-series party that he had tampered with the ball during his side’s 4-0 win – a report that may be too incendiary for Cricket Australia to handle now.
Warner, who – unlike Smith – has been barred from holding a leadership position in Australian cricket again after he instructed Bancroft to use sandpaper, later took to Twitter to explain his approach in the press conference.
‘I know there are unanswered questions and lots of them,’ he stated. ‘I completely understand. In time I will do my best to answer them all. But there is a formal CA process to follow.
‘I am taking advice to make sure I properly comply with that process and answer all questions in the proper place and at the proper time. I should have mentioned that in my press conference. 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 24 hours earlier, Warner struggled to control his emotions as he reflected on a week that has changed his life for good.
‘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. ‘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 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’m not sure right now how I’ll do this. I will seek out advice and expertise to help me make serious changes.’
With so much at stake I must follow this process properly