Search

show me:

Warner won't be forgiven by some: CA boss

3 minute read

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts says David Warner will never be forgiven by some people for his role in the ball-tampering scandal.

DAVID WARNER.
DAVID WARNER. Picture: Henry Browne/Getty Images

No matter how many runs he scores, David Warner still won't be forgiven by some, Cricket Australia's chief executive Kevin Roberts says.

Warner struck an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan - the second-highest Test score by an Australian and 10th-highest in Test history.

But Roberts says some people will never forgive Warner for his role in the sandpaper scandal which led to a 12-month ban from international and domestic cricket.

"I respect the view of people who say David is not their cup of tea ... and that is a really fair perspective," Roberts told SEN radio before Saturday's play in the second Test in Adelaide.

"We all don't have to love each other.

"But hopefully there is a level of human respect for what he is doing and what is trying to contribute to his team and to the game."

Warner was considered the architect of the ball-tampering furore in a Test against South Africa in March last year in Cape Town.

Then-captain Steve Smith was also suspended from international and domestic cricket for 12 months while batsman Cameron Bancroft, who used sandpaper on the ball, was banned for nine months.

Warner has returned since the ban with a changed on-field persona - the man once nicknamed Bull for his overtly aggressive style now cuts a more sedate and smiling figure.

"Dave is a street fighter," Roberts said.

"And we get the best of that and, at times, you get the shadow side of that because like the rest of us he us human.

"I think he is finding a really good balance of that strength and the downside of being a street fighter, so to his credit he is doing everything he can."

Roberts believed Warner's suspension had given the batsman a fresh outlook.

"One of the things that Dave speaks openly about himself is that, to use his term, he was cooked at the time of the incident last year," Roberts said.

"What we're seeing is a fresh David Warner after his time out ... the break has done him the world of good and we're seeing David Warner at his best."

In his first Australian summer since serving the ban, Warner has gone on a stunning scoring spree - he is averaging 388 across all international games.

Warner has made 776 runs with scores of 100no, 60no, 57no, 2no, 20 and 48no in six Twenty20 internationals followed by 154 and his unbeaten 335 in two Test digs.

Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?

For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit www.gamblinghelponline.org.au