The scrapping of David Warner’s lifetime captaincy ban six years after it was imposed closes one chapter on the ball-tampering scandal that rocked Australian cricket. But while the indefinite suspension has grown to seem unfairly onerous as time has passed, the latest decision is another step towards nailing the lid shut on what happened behind the scenes at Newlands and in the lead up to the controversy in 2018.
Warner’s ban from holding a leadership position in Australian cricket, at both national and state levels, was the last sanction still in place from the sandpaper-gate saga until Cricket Australia’s backflip was announced out of the blue on Friday. The lingering asterisk is now removed from next to Warner’s name but comes too late for his hopes of resuming a role as Australia vice-captain – or perhaps even a higher honour – following his international retirement this year. The “modification” to the long-term ban does however clear the path for the 37-year-old to captain Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League this summer, as well as Warner taking on off-field leadership roles in cricket in the future.
The unanimous decision of the independent three-member review panel to overturn the lifetime leadership ban for bringing the game into disrepute might have arrived sooner but for Warner withdrawing the same bid two years ago. The explosive batter has rarely taken a backward step with willow in hand but even after edging towards the process for six months in 2022, he then baulked at the idea of it playing out in public and the prospect of further investigation under cross-examination, which was also at odds with CA’s preferred procedure.
Current captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald, former Australian captains Greg Chappell and Lisa Sthalekar, and former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson were among those to back Warner’s case in 2022. Each of those written character references were reaffirmed last week as the hearing was this time held privately and with all parties committed to keeping it out of public view until the findings were published amid 21 pages of heavy detail.
Warner copped the heaviest sanctions as ringleader of the ball-tampering plot in South Africa. Cameron Bancroft was caught in the act when trying to scuff the ball on the field and handed a nine-month suspension, while Warner received a 12-month playing ban and was told that he could never again hold a leadership role within the national or state set ups.
Steve Smith, Australia’s captain in the now-infamous third Test against South Africa, was aware of the scheme concocted over the lunch break and played his part in the clumsy cover up. He was handed the same playing ban as Warner but only prevented from leading the national side for two years. The 35-year-old has since stepped in to captain Australia in four Tests after first returning to the role against England in Adelaide in December 2021. Smith has also led the national side in eight ODIs since early 2023, while Warner continued to be sidelined from formal leadership roles until his retirement after this year’s T20 World Cup.
Warner spoke during his farewell tournament about being “the only one that’s ever copped a lot of flak” since the ball-tampering incident in 2018, and has previously conceded that the stain of sandpaper-gate will always remain even with all of the punishments served. Being cleared to lead a team onto the field, whether it be Sydney Thunder or another XI, is unlikely to be Warner’s primary motivation for ending the lifetime ban, especially now that he has packed away his baggy green and has a legacy as arguably Australia’s most brilliant batter across all formats to restore and preserve.
The three Australians each accepted their sanctions in 2018 without need for a hearing, and subsequently did their time, but the polarising opener has since dabbled with spreading blame for his combative role in the side before that fateful day in Cape Town. He was commended for turning over a new leaf on the field since then, with independent panellists Alan Sullivan, KC, Jeff Gleeson, KC, and Jane Seawright stating in their findings that, “Warner’s conduct and behaviour since the imposition of the sanction has been excellent and he appears to have made a substantial change, one example of which is that he no longer sledges or tries to provoke the opposing team”.
Whether the reformed Warner wants to return to captaining Sydney Thunder in his first full season in the BBL, as he did before the leadership ban was handed down, remains to be seen. But while the hearing to reduce the length of that suspension might not have been the right forum to publicly dive deeper into the broader cultural and ethical issues that took the national team to their lowest point, it now feels we are further away from getting to the bottom of their root cause and – perhaps of more concern to ardent fans – whether this was an isolated scheme involving only the three collaborators.
