Amid the major ball tampering scandal that has rocked Australia, the disgraced cricket team is being divided with new claims from prominent players that David Warner is the main culprit at fault. The drama is believed to have hit Warner and his wife Candice hard, after they were recently the subject of a sledging scandal over her dating history.
Strike bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood are reportedly ‘livid’ they have been associated with the scandal, The Australian reports, with the pair blaming their fellow team mate Warner.
Starc and Hazelwood have claimed they were wrongly involved when Steve Smith revealed the team’s ‘leadership’ group had approved of the plan.
However, Warner is reportedly fuming that he has become the main focus of the embarrassment, feeling he has been made the ‘scapegoat.’
Cricket Australia has released a formal statement, it reads: ‘Following this, Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland has officially reported Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for breaching article 2.3.5 of Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct.
‘All three players reported will depart South Africa tomorrow. The replacement players will fly to Johannesburg over the next 24 hours to join the squad for the Fourth Test against South Africa.
‘Sanctions are expected to be announced within the next 24 hours.’
Smith, Warner and Bancroft have not yet released individual statements.
Candice Warner this week slammed former cricket captain of England Michael Vaughan after he made light of the abuse she had received while on the Australian tour of South Africa.
South African fans taunted Candice on-and-off the field about her ‘toilet tryst’ with rugby star Sonny Bill Williams in 2004 (before she was in a relationship with David Warner).
Michael Vaughan tweeted: ‘It’s making me chuckle the Aussies are making an official complaint about the personal abuse they are receiving.’
An infuriated Candice responded: ”I’m glad it’s making you laugh. So you would approve of the same treatment to your wife?’
He later denied condoning the ‘personal abuse’ the Aussies had been receiving, saying: ‘Absolutely not. But off field anger in my experience starts with on field behaviour by players… so maybe you need to look closer to home as to why’.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
