Warner gives up captaincy quest

Ag AFP

ADELAIDE: David Warner withdrew a bid to overturn his lifetime Australian leadership ban on Wednesday, claiming an independent review panel wanted to “conduct a public lynching” and it would be traumatic for his family.

The dynamic opener and former Test vice-captain was banned from any leadership role over his part in the Cape Town ball tampering affair in 2018.

He was also slapped with a one-year playing suspension, but bounced back to reclaim his place in the national side across all three formats of the game.

Last month, Cricket Australia amended its player code of conduct policy which paved the way for him to request a review of the captaincy ban before an independent panel of three code of conduct commissioners.

But he has seemingly now shut the door with a scathing, and lengthy, statement claiming the panel had made “offensive and unhelpful” comments about him and wanted “a public trial of me and what occurred during the Third Test at Newlands” in 2018.

“They want to conduct a public spectacle to, in the panel’s words, have a ‘cleansing’. I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry,” he wrote on the eve of the second Test against the West Indies in Adelaide.

He added that it appeared the panel “has given no more than passing consideration to issues of player welfare and the interests of Australian cricket and is instead determined to conduct a public lynching”.

“Regrettably, I have no practical alternative at this point in time but to withdraw my application.”

Cricket Australia said it respected Warner’s decision and had backed his desire for a closed door hearing.

“We are disappointed with this outcome as our intention was to give David the opportunity to demonstrate why his lifetime leadership ban should be varied at an independent hearing and we amended our Code of Conduct accordingly,” CA said in a statement.