Clarke, Finch respond to Warner's 2018 scandal comments

Former vice captain David Warner was questioned over his remarks about the impact of the 2018 ball-tampering scandal by his fellow cricketers, Michael Clarke and Aaron Finch.

The left-handed batter approaches the final weeks of his career, he mentioned in his conversation with the News Corp and cricket.com.au in Antigua ahead of Australia's Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup about the tampering scandal in 2018.

"Coming back since 2018, I've probably...been the only one that's ever copped a lot of flak." Although he accepted that it was inevitable, he would always be remembered for what happened.

Following that incident, Warner has been restricted from the leadership role in the Australian team. He’ll be ending his international career with this label. However, the opening batter tried lifting this ban but failed in 2022.

Steven Smith, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to get the ban lifted and become a vice captain under the leadership of Pat Cummins, and Cameron Bancroft, who received a nine-month ban, has also returned to play.

Australian cricketers react on Warner's statement

Former Australian player Michael Clarke questioned Hum-bull’s remarks over the ball-tampering scandal. He praised him for his brilliant performance in multiple matches and acknowledged his statement that the timing was not accurate.

"I understand where Davey is coming from, I think parts of what he said are fair enough; I don't think he's got the timing right," Clarke told ESPN's Around The Wicket. 

"I don't think it's fair to say he's the only one whose copped it. I think Cameron Bancroft's certainly copped it, and there's still about is the reasoning he's not in the Australian Test team because of what happened years ago. Steve Smith obviously copped it and lost the Australian captaincy.

"Davey has certainly copped it, there's no doubt about it. I just think the timing is probably not right. Think it probably would have been suited for the end of a World Cup rather in the middle of a World Cup because there's probably other players in the team who would prefer this not to be spoken about right now. But there's parts of what he said that are correct."

"I think he will definitely be remembered for how great a cricketer he has been, and he's been an amazing entertainer," Clarke said. "Unfortunately for him, yes, it [ball tampering] probably will be spoken about…in 10, 20 years' time. But I think how good a cricketer he is will be spoken about as well,” Clarke said.

Finch, on the other hand, was also surprised by Warner’s comments and agreed to Clarke’s statement.

"Like Pup [Clarke] said, purely for the timing…I thought that was a little bit odd," he said.

Moreover, Usman Khwaja mentioned the changes in Warner’s performance following his Test retirement in January.

"He was getting told to play a certain way by the coaching staff and people around at certain points. You've seen a very different David Warner since he came back in 2019. He's done it his own way," Khwaja said. 

Comments

Submit