Paine wants public to give Smith, Warner another chance

SYDNEY: Test skipper Tim Paine Wednesday urged Australia’s public to give the disgraced Steve Smith and David Warner a second chance, saying he hoped “they’re welcomed back” into the national team. The pair’s year-long ban for ball-tampering is due to expire at the end of March and they are widely expected to be rushed back into a side that has struggled without them. But how the Australian public responds remains to be seen after they were widely slammed for tarnishing the country’s image with their antics in South Africa last March. During the Test in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft tried to alter the ball with sandpaper with Warner fingered as the instigator and then captain Smith admitting he turned a blind eye. The scandal rocked the sport and led to national coach Darren Lehmann resigning and an overhaul of senior executives at governing body Cricket Australia.