by Cricket Australia has lifted David Warner’s lifetime leadership ban, a move praised for its potential to transform the former Test opener’s sporting legacy.
A three-person independent review panel unanimously decided to overturn the ban imposed on Warner for his role in the ball-tampering saga at Newlands after the 37-year-old appealed to CA.
The panel concluded that Warner was contrite over the “Sandpapergate” ordeal in 2018, with the 112-times Test star telling last Thursday’s hearing he had “let every single person down” in Cape Town.
Australian captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald, cricket star Greg Chappell and former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson were among those who submitted written character references for the hearing.
In its 21 pages of findings, the panel acknowledged that it had given weight to Warner’s passion for promoting interest in the sport across diverse communities and his track record in mentoring the next generation of cricketers.
The decision, confirmed on Friday, removes the final sanction that emerged from the saga and opens the door for Warner to take up a former leadership role with the Sydney Thunder this summer.
Thunder general manager Trent Copeland, who testified at the hearing, acknowledged some may never be able to separate Warner from his role in the incident that rocked Australian cricket.
However, he hoped that by successfully appealing the sanction, Warner had given himself the chance to change his legacy.
“That was a big part of the motivation for Dave and especially his family,” Copeland said. “If it’s a lifetime ban, she’ll still be over him when he’s 50 or 60 years old. She would just never go away. It may never go away, but I think this at least gives it a chance.
“What type of player was he? Really, he changed the game, the way he played Test cricket when he started out, when he debuted for Australia and slapped Dale Steyn (the South African Test legend) before he even played a first-class game for NSW had played, that’s it We want to remember David Warner. Not the other stuff.”
The Thunder have not yet named their captain for next summer, when Warner will play the entire BBL for the first time in his T20 career.
But Copeland “absolutely” thought Warner was a suitable candidate for the role.
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“There’s a process we’ll go through, but we can’t get to the point where we can make that decision until this is all done,” Copeland said. “Ollie Davies, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, those are the guys I want to put in leadership roles with David Warner in the middle, whether he has a C next to his name or not.
“Anyone who knows Davey and has watched him over the years has seen that he is a great captain and leader, especially with the bat in his hand.”
Warner had considered appealing to have his ban overturned at the end of 2022 after CA changed its code of conduct to allow players to challenge long-term sanctions.
However, he ultimately decided not to pursue the appeal, fearing that revisiting incidents from the 2018 ball-tampering saga would reopen old wounds.
Copeland described the handling of the latest attempt as a “train wreck,” with Warner taking to social media at the time to express his frustration with the public process.
“This time it was really methodical and well planned. This is actually the first time anyone has heard of this this week. “It had to be that way so that the legal and independent process could actually take place,” Copeland said.
