Australia opener David Warner lashed out at Cricket Australia over his lifetime leadership ban on Wednesday. Slamming the entire process, the southpaw defended his family and took a dig at the legal counsel assisting the independent panel for allegedly making “offensive comments” during a hearing last week.
“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.“It appears that 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. I am not prepared to subject my family or my teammates to further trauma and disruption by accepting a departure from the way in which my application should be dealt with pursuant to the Code of Conduct. Some things are more important than cricket.”Warner’s wife Candice commented on his Instagram post adding “Now is not the time” and “Family first”, while Marcus Stoinis posted a heart in apparent support of his Aussie teammate.
As part of the statement that extended beyond 700 words, Warner added that the counsel assisting's role had been terminated and that CA had supported him in challenging the approach the review panel had taken, but that after a week they had "decided to ignore the request in any meaningful way""It appears that 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," he wrote.Warner also spelt out the impact the last four years have had on him and his family and the efforts he has made to rehabilitate himself."Since that Test and even though my ban from leadership roles may never be lifted, I have taken it upon myself to reform, to rehabilitate and to transform my approach to the game," he wrote. "I have served and been subject to a crushing, unprecedented, penalty that has horribly impacted me and my family for the past nearly five years."A Cricket Australia spokesperson confirmed that they supported Warner's bid to have the hearing in private."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," a statement said.
