While the door is ajar for David Warner to lead Australia again, it’s far from a certainty that he will.
Cricket Australia announced on Monday that a code of conduct change would allow players to apply to have long-term sanctions modified. Warner was famously banned from ever holding a leadership position within Australian cricket after the sandpaper scandal in 2018, but the new policy allows that to be changed, should Warner put forward a convincing case.
The New South Welshman welcomed the change on Monday but criticised the process for taking too long, saying the impact has been “traumatic” on him and his family.
“At the end of the day, I’m not a criminal,” he said.
“You should get a right of an appeal at some stage, you know.
“I understand that they put a ban in place, but banning someone for life I think is a bit harsh. So it’s just an opportunity to come out and actually show that I’m actually remorseful. I’ve all done my time to get back into the Australian cricket set up.
“It’s all about me now campaigning, that’s what it looks like, and it’s totally not that.
“It’s frustrating because we could have done this about nine months ago when it was first brought up.
“It‘s a tad disappointing that when you make a decision in 2018, it’s in four days, and then this takes nine months.
“But it’s good to get in a position where we are now today, and it gives me an opportunity to ring up the Integrity Unit and have a word to them and put forward my case.”
SEN’s Gerard Whateley suggested the length of the process to amend the policy could be reflective of CA’s attitude towards overturning the ban.
“I do think it is still a stretch to see him captaining an Australian team and maybe that’s been the source of some of the hesitancy behind the scenes,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.
“It will be bitterly divisive if Warner was to captain a national team again, there are absolutely those who think he should... I don’t think it’s a significant minority who can’t see him leading the team.
“Given that it is such a short-term proposition, I’m not sure why you would open up the bitterness of that national debate for such a short-term solution.
“If he was five years younger and there is no question that he had revealed himself as a T20 captain of great worth, in fact just before they went to South Africa he captained that team when duties were split, he captained the T20 team to rave reviews, he’d done it in the IPL.
“But I think this late in the day that’s certainly not the long-term solution and it comes with so many barriers that I just can’t see it, not to say it won’t or couldn’t happen.”
As Whateley notes, Warner was seen to be the mastermind behind the plot that saw Cameron Bancroft caught with the sandpaper. It saw Warner receive a lifetime leadership ban while Steve Smith – who was captain at the time – was only banned for two years.
However, the former vice-captain has toned down the on-field antics since returning to the national setup.
While Whateley is unsure of the outcome of Warner’s review – should he choose – he says the policy change is ultimately a good idea.
“The circumstances of the time were that Smith was negligent in his duty but Warner was the brains behind what happened, so it’s whether you accept that as a literal truth or not, that was what was put forward and that’s why the punishment came the way that it did,” he continued.
“I think the right of appeal is absolutely necessary in a process like this and you’re not guaranteed that you will be successful in that but Warner has got a strong case since he has returned to cricket and how his conduct has been and it has been considerably different as to when he was used as Australia’s Pit bull through the period which ultimately led there.
“And I’m sure some of what went into that ban was incidents that had happened previously and he got the judgment of the time.
“I think there should be the right of appeal within this process so separate to Warner’s case, this is a better place for Cricket Australia to find itself and then you go through the process from there.”
At 36, Warner would be unlikely to captain the national side again, but the opener has signed for Sydney Thunder in the upcoming BBL.
He’s previously led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and is understood to be keen to take the reigns for the Thunder again.