Steve Smith believes David Warner should have his lifetime leadership ban lifted, labelling it “funadamentally wrong” after the stand-in skipper led Australia to a massive win over the West Indies at Adelaide on Sunday.
The West Indies went down with barely a whimper on day four of the second Test as Australia immediately turned their attention to their heavyweight stoush with South Africa after wrapping up an emphatic 2-0 series cakewalk.
Warner’s plight has been an ongoing issue in the background and he opted to withdraw an appeal on the ban for his part in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal on Thursday because he feared a “public lynching” as part of Cricket Australia’s judicial process.
“From my point of view, banning someone for life is fundamentally wrong,” Smith said after the 419-run triumph over the Windies.
“David has served his time like I did. We know he’s a leader around the group and on and off the field is doing a tremendous job.
“It’s been a difficult week and David said himself he’s done and dusted. He wants to move on (from the leadership appeals process). He’s got our full support and hopefully he can have a really big series for us against South Africa.”
Warner is struggling for runs but Smith said he had “no real concerns there”.
“I’ve watched him in the nets, he’s in a good frame of mind,” he said. “He’s been an incredible player for a long period of time, his record suggests that. There’s no reason why he can’t have a big series for this week coming up as well. He’s batting nicely. Fingers crossed he can have a bit of luck.
“He hasn’t had a great deal of luck lately either. It seems like every time he gets an inside edge it goes onto the stumps. When you’re scoring runs you need some luck, hopefully that turns for him.”
Marnus Labuschagne said during his player of the series presentation that he expected the three-match contest with the Proteas to be a fiery affair in relation to the strikepower each team has with its respective world-class fast bowling arsenal.
It could be a fiery clash in another sense too with tension still simmering from the controversial 2018 series which was marred by on and off-field slanging poor behaviour from both sides, culminating in the infamous Sandpapergate ball-tampering incident.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Their batting remains the bigger question mark, but in Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada they have a particularly threatening pace trio.
“They present a really good challenge for us, they’re a very good side,” stand-in captain Steve Smith said.
“Particularly their fast-bowling stocks are very strong and we need to be at our best to compete.”
Nathan Lyon became just the eighth bowler in Test history to take 450 wickets when he bowled Alzarri Joseph late in the Windies’ meagre collapse in which they went from 4-38 to be all out for a paltry 77 to lose by 419 runs to the world’s top-ranked team.
Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath are the only other Australians who have 450 scalps at Test level.
Mitchell Starc did the early damage on day four to remove Devon Thomas and Jason Holder, the latter with a vicious in-swinger which rattled into his stumps.
CLICK HERE for a seven-day free trial to watch cricket on KAYO
Michael Neser then got in on the act to dismiss Roston Chase (13) and Josh Da Silva (15) to sharp catches to Alex Carey keeping up to the stumps.
Lyon chimed in before Neser completed the rout by dismissing Marquino Mindley for a duck.
(Photo by Sarah Reed – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Travis Head was not surprisingly named player of the match for his 175 in the first innings while the player of the series award went to Labuschagne for scoring a double ton and two centuries in his four trips to the crease.
His tally of 502 runs is the most by an Australian player in a two-Test series.
Pat Cummins has declared he will be a certain starter for Saturday’s opening day at the Gabba after sitting out the second Windies Test with a thigh problem but Josh Hazlewood’s side strain is expected to keep him out until at least the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
Scott Boland is likely to retain his spot in the XI with Michael Neser unlucky to miss out on his home track after bagging match figures of 5-56 in Adelaide.
Australia’s domination of the series has included Australia piling on 1490 runs for the loss of just 19 wickets, while claiming all 40 of the Windies’ scalps for 907.
Three Australians averaged more than 100 with the bat with Labuschagne and Head’s first-innings centuries in Adelaide coming after the pair, along with Smith, dominated in the first Test in Perth.
“Our boys batted particularly well the first day (in Adelaide) … and the bowlers did the job like they have done so many times for us in these pink-ball games,” Smith said.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
That is in contrast to a West Indies side that had five bowlers average at worse than 100.
It helped extend Australia’s grip on the once-prestigious Frank Worrell Trophy to 27 years, with the two teams to meet again for two more Tests next summer.
Lyon has overtaken Indian rival Ravichandran Ashwin for the second most by an off-spinner behind Muttiah Muralitharan and his record mark of 800.
“Many people have talked about it but I think he has the best stock ball I’ve seen in spin bowling,” Australia’s spin coach and New Zealand great Daniel Vettori said of Lyon.
“That ability to repeat it, to ask so many questions, to have the pace on the ball, the top spin that allows the drift and the spin and now he’s trying to add to that repertoire.
“I think you saw a couple of balls, a side spinner where he’s been able to mask that as well.
“I think it just comes down to the fact that the ball that the ball he bowls, his stock ball is so consistent, so repetitive, and asks so many questions.”
Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite lamented a lack of fight in his team after they sunk to fresh lows on this tour. The West Indies return to Australia next summer for another two-Test series.
“We didn’t show any fight at all,” Brathwaite said. “Australia bowled well but we didn’t fight.”
“A lot of the guys, this was their first time to Australia so the experience would help. And then seeing how Australia played – how their batsmen started their innings, we could learn from that, and then how their bowlers bowled throughout a spell.
“You have got to learn and it’s important when you come back you don’t make the same mistakes.
“Australia will always be a strong team at home but … it’s important we show that experience when we come back.”
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
the penalty was completely out of proportion to the “crime” As it was the first 'crime' of this kind by an Australian player the penalty cannot be "out of proportion".
Takeadeepbreath
Roar Rookie
Another gem from mudface...absolute words of wisdom. Start scoring some runs beloved Davey and get off the sorry train...sure that would help tremendously.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
It's not fundamentally wrong at all Smithy. Yes, people deserve a second chance when they make mistakes. But Warner don't deserve the privilege of being national captain of Australia's cricket team when he demonstrated one of the worst and most embarrassing acts of poor sportsmanship and in memory (behind only Hansie Cronje's cheating scandal and Greg Chappell's Underarm incident - which at least could be argued was legal). Cricket Australia and The Public don't owe him a 2nd chance at captain. What if we gave it to him and then he failed badly again? How bad would that make us look? He should consider himself fortunate the lifetime ban wasn't extended to playing - although he could also consider also himself unfortunate that he plays for such a highly principled country as Australia (various other nations, such as South Africa, meekly just ban their players for one match when they cheat, including their former captain). Fair enough to criticise the ACB for taking so long to make a decision, but Warner would have earned a lot more respect if he had just swallowed his frustration, kept his mouth shut / head down / bum up like he has since Sandpapergate before now, and accepted he can't ever be captain again - honestly, how could he!
Just Nuisance
Roar Rookie
Great suggestion , to be competitive in Australia us Africans will bat first . Need all the help we can get :silly: I mean it should have been introduced for previous tours too :thumbup:
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
The more I think about this Dwayne the more robust it is
Curmudgeon1961
Roar Rookie
Smith knows a 5 syllable word?
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Gosh, that’s SOOO clever…*golfclap*
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
I think you need to walk away now. This is just gibberish.
Keith Griffen
Guest
Cant wait for the proteas test series. Badd blood, ball management, a need for speed and a nearly 2 decade streak. Don’t write off SA yet with batting. They came from behind twice, beating india, drawing with NZ.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
Yeah, I’m saying how is it good for Australian cricket that he is ineligible to coach in Australia. I’m not saying that he is going to coach or should be appointed to a coaching role.
Clear as mud
Guest
i think you need to scroll up in your head
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
“ The ban was always unreasonable and it’s not just captaincy, it also applies to any possibility of coaching in Australia. If he wants to coach in Australia, currently he’s not permitted to. How is that good for Australian cricket ?” Those are your words. All you had to do was scroll up in this thread.
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
When did I use it in my argument ? I’ve never used the argument that the decision should be overturned because he would be a good captain or coach. I said it should be overturned because the penalty was completely out of proportion to the “crime”, and as such he has more than paid for his mistake.
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
First you use it in your argument, and now you claim it’s irrelevant. Looks like (just like Warner himself), you don’t actually have an argument after all…
Clear as mud
Guest
that should be this week. and who cares how loud it is? and.... based on the debacle of the last year,,, maybe not???
Clear as mud
Guest
i think "irrelevant" was very polite!
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
That’s irrelevant. That’s a consideration for appointing him for a position like that, not whether he should be eligible for a leadership position. But if you want evidence he’s captained extremely well in the IPL for a number of years
Christo the Daddyo
Roar Rookie
Where’s the evidence he would make a good coach? For that matter, where’s the evidence he would make a good captain? Professional sport is littered with good players who never made good captains or coaches.
Grand Panjandrum
Guest
If they do it, it will be quietly done and after he retires. That's IF they do it. They've got bigger priorities than the status of one player.
Grand Panjandrum
Guest
He's used his credits now tbh. He won't be going to India if he keeps averaging 28, or can't even get into a feast-famine trick. He's got nothing in his overseas accounts that the selectors can draw upon.