Warner walk-off after hurtful sledge by Hughes’ brother

SYDNEY: David Warner walked off mid-innings in a Sydney grade game after "hurtful" comments from the brother of ex-Test teammate Phillip Hughes, who died in 2014 after being hit by a ball, his wife claimed Sunday.

The former Australia vice-captain, who is serving a 12-month ban from international and state cricket for his role in a ball-tampering scandal, was batting for his club Randwick-Petersham at the time on Saturday.

He left the field on 35 but returned shortly afterwards following the intervention of teammates, and went on to score a majestic 157. Candice Warner said Jason Hughes -- the brother of Phillip, whose tragic death rocked the sporting world -- was the culprit.

"Look, I’m not going to go into the details. However, David was taken aback by the comments and thought they went a little bit too far so he decided to remove himself from the game," she told Channel Nine.