David Warner received a lifetime ban on all leadership roles within Australian cricket at both national and state levels six years ago due to ball-tampering.
Warner’s penalty was the last one still in place since the scandal, known as Sandpaper-gate, which occurred in 2018 during a Test match against South Africa.
Teammate, Cameron Bancroft, was caught on video trying to scuff the ball. However, Warner was also found to be involved and considered ringleader. Bancroft was banned for nine months, and Warner received a twelve-month playing ban along with a permanent ban from leadership positions within cricket. However, Cricket Australia retracted this ban recently, seemingly out of nowhere.
Despite this, 37-year-old Warner is very unlikely to resume as vice-captain or higher due to his international retirement announced earlier this year. Though, the revocation does mean that Warner can take on off-field leadership roles in the future.
The revocation was decided unanimously by an independent three-member review panel made up of Alan Sullivan KC, Jeff Gleeson KC and Jane Seawright. Warner actually retracted from the process to lift his ban in 2022 as he did not want it to play out in public, and he disliked the idea of further investigation under cross-examination. However, the hearing was held again, this time privately.
Current captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald, former Australian captains Greg Chappell and Lisa Sthalekar, and former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson all supported Warner in 2022 and 2024. The findings were covered in a twenty-one-page report.
Steve Smith, who was Australia’s captain at the time, was aware of the ball-tampering scheme back in 2018 and was involved in the poor cover up. He also received a twelve-month playing ban but was only prohibited from leading the national side for two years. Since 2021, Smith has captained Australia in four Tests. He has also captained eight ODIs since 2023.
Upon retiring, Warner said he is “the only one that’s ever copped a lot of flak” since the scandal. Some believe that the decision to revoke the ban will help secure Warner’s legacy as Australia’s best batter.
The independent panellists stated that, “Warner’s conduct and behaviour since the imposition of the sanction has been excellent and he appears to have made a substantial change, one example of which is that he no longer sledges or tries to provoke the opposing team."
