Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has added his voice to the calls for the lifting of the ban on David Warner holding a formal leadership role in Australian cricket.
Opening batsman Warner was barred from holding any leadership position in the Australian game for life because of his leading role in the infamous Newlands ball-tampering scandal of 2018.
Current Test skipper Pat Cummins is among those who have called for the Cricket Australia bar to be rescinded, saying he “fundamentally” disagreed with the concept of a ban that failed to recognise that people can learn and improve.
“He obviously had a central role in what happened but he was not the only one that was involved and I don’t know why he should be treated any differently,” Chappell told Fox Sports News on Tuesday.
“He’s served his punishment, he is a good leader in the side and no doubt if he had had the opportunity, I’m sure he would have captained the side quite well.
“I think he’s paid his penalty and it’s time to open it up for leadership roles.”
Warner and Steve Smith, the vice-captain and captain of the Test side at the time of the ball-tampering incident, were both banned from elite cricket for a year.
Smith was banned from leadership roles for only a further year and was named vice-captain of the Test team ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes series.
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said last week that although Warner was an “outstanding” leader in the side there were no plans to rescind the ban.
Joshua Makepeace
Roar Rookie
Could they not just make him vice-captain in all but name?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
If they did what would it matter? The damage was done on the first day of the first test.
Nick
Roar Guru
The SBW masks were worn in the subsequent test, no?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
From what I've seen it was the SBW mask wearing with the 2 Saffers Cricket Officials, in attendance, that was the instigatory and incendiary act. If you can show me where there was a prior incident please let me know. -------- I'm trying to be objective about this.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
The "she Kock" was an autocorrection. de Kock is ofc the name.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Thank you for your patience ----- I know that Warner is a provocateur and that's a given. I've looked all around and found nothing concrete to suggest it was Warner who went 'family' first. I don't think he's the devil incarnate. Maybe she Kock heard the bush pig comment meant for him about his mother. I've seen no reasonable reportage where it was said that Warner related to anyone but him. ------- I'll keep looking to see if l can find anymore on this but it's not a burning ambition atm.
Nick
Roar Guru
Well, if you honestly reckon Warner - with his track record - received unprovoked abuse ... Then I think you'd be in a minority of one. Warner got what he deserved both outside the locker room and then with all those SBW masks. A sound lesson in Newtonian physics. Candace Warner was a very unfortunate victim of collateral damage... But she should blame her husband's mouth, not anyone in South Africa.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Still looking for definitive, objective record about what happened first. I've found some nebulous statements about things but timelines are inconclusive atm.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
That I’m not disputing. In fact, where have l talked about the specifics of his punishment.
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
(1) If you admit you might be wrong, then doesn't that show you may not be right, and yet you want to base a punishment on your psychoanalysis being right? (2) If you've "read closely all you could", then you will know that Warner's punishment is completely disproportionate with his crime. There are hundreds of other cricketers in the world who have been found guilty of ball tampering, and yet not one of them has been punished like Warner - that is a certain fact.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I'll have a look at that. Thanks.
Nick
Roar Guru
The timeline is clear. 1. Warner spends the afternoon abusing deKock 2. deKock then has an SBW jab at Warner outside the dressing rooms. 3. Warner wants to fight. 4. Others intervene, and we see Faf's awesome rig and towel combo.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
And if that is the case, fine, send Warner on his way. I didn’t know about him calling someone a pig. Perhaps a chronology of what happened where would be instructive. But l absolutely don’t condone Warner calling her that. ——- And l had no intention of painting Warner as a victim. My point was that Warner had taken the team down with him instead of fighting his own battle with his perceptions of wrong doing. ——– And l can assure you I’d never call her that either. You can rest easy.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
You don’t have to be Jung or Freud to work it out. But if I’m wrong I’ll be the first to apologize. I’ve read closely all l could and followed those events. It’s pretty well a straight up a dot 2 dot drawing.
Nick
Roar Guru
That there is why he cannot be a leader. When the going gets tough, he delegates.
Nick
Roar Guru
The problem, Rowdy, is that Warner stone cold broke rule 3 first. He relentlessly attacked deKock and deKock's mother that afternoon in the slip cordon. He called her a bush pig. Rule 4) When you break rule 3, all subsequent activity directed toward you is fair game. It's amazing how many people just choose to overlook the fact that if Warner had just been a decent human being and not ragged on deKocks mum, then that SBW stuff just wouldn't have happened. Don't ever paint Warner as the victim here. His actions - and his alone - are precisely why his poor wife copped all that humiliation. Not dekock, not RSA administrators...Warner. He learned a valuable lesson about being quiet that day. He brought family into it, he deserved what he got. You best believe that if you called my mum a bush pig, I will come back fighting against your missus or mum too.
Nick
Roar Guru
As I posted above, he's averaged 22.7 away in the past 5 years. I refuse to believe Australia's opening batsman stocks are so poor that there isn't ONE batsman who can do better than 22.7
Greg Russell
Roar Guru
Apologies for the error, but it doesn't change anything about the argument, in fact if anything it adds to it because Greg has been more a part of the Australian cricket establishment (whose ban it is) than has Ian. It's amazing how many people writing comments here seem to know exactly what was said and done in the Newlands dressing room, in fact they seem to know better than many of those who demonstrably were in that dressing room!
Brian
Guest
Warner averages 25 in India and 24 in England and that's peak Warner. I'm sure Hunt, Pierson, Bancroft, Whiteman would all do better. I think I read that in every Australian innings in 2022 Warner been the first batsman dismissed
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I can entertain the thought that our bowling group may've been doing things that other team's did like what Pakistan had 'pioneered'. However what Warner did in inviting Bancroft to do was next level.