David Warner’s manager, James Erskine, has taken aim at Cricket Australia for its decision to ban Warner from a leadership role for life after his involvement in Sandpapergate during a Test match in South Africa in 2018.
Warner originally had planned to appeal the decision following a change in CA's policy, but has since withdrawn his application after learning his hearing would become public.
In a statement released yesterday, Warner confirmed he would not be appealing the decision as he believed it would “negatively affect” his family’s well-being due to media backlash.
Speaking to SEN, Erskine defended Warner’s actions and noted that he may be scarred from the original backlash after the life ban was made public.
“I think he’s fed up with the process, the trauma (from) that the original decision in South Africa, to his family and Candice (Warner’s wife), she lost a baby because of it,” Erskine said on SEN 1170 Afternoons.
“I think it’s odd, I don’t quite understand the process myself… of course, they (Cricket Australia) want this open court on the appeal.
“When you get banned for life with no appeal, I don’t think that can be legal, you can murder 25 people and get an appeal, and go have a second trial.
“The Prime Minister came out (at the time), (Malcolm) Turnbull came out and said this is a disgrace and whatever, I think he regrets those comments now, Cricket Australia had the whole process, the (Iain) Roy report was done in four days.
“You’d have to be a blind black Labrador, there was far more than three people involved in this thing, they all got a canning and David Warner was completely villainized.
“He has shut up, he protected Cricket Australia, he protected his fellow players on my advice, because at the end of the day no one wanted to hear any more of it and he’s got on playing cricket.
“Why Cricket Australia couldn’t have done a very sensible thing and said listen, it’s not legal that someone doesn’t have a right of appeal.
“It’s just absurd, why should he have to go through that, he has done everything he possibly could for Cricket Australia and for his team, and now he’s being treated like this… this is injustice at its greatest level.”
Jimmy Smith asked: “Do you get the sense that this is exactly what Cricket Australia wanted, for David to finally throw his arms up and say don’t worry about it?”
Erskine responded: “Well, if you’re being Machiavellian, the answer is yes.
“Having said that, I think in fairness Nick Hockley and I have spoken. Cricket Australia wanted a closed hearing. These people (the independent panel) have been chosen and hired by (CA), they only get more stipends, but they’ve been hired by Cricket Australia.
“So why wouldn’t they say we’re having a closed situation?
“Funnily enough, had David turned around and put his family through more, he could have just basically told everybody exactly what happened because they were asking the questions.
“When the truth comes out, everybody is going to turn around and say, ‘Well, why was David Warner picked upon?’
“I just think that Cricket Australia made it so difficult and they’ve been sitting on the fence, they will have splinters in their arse.
“They have to have a symbiotic relationship in the future with their players. This master-slave relationship is just bloody bollocks.”
How will the truth come out?
“The truth will come out, let me tell you,” Erskine said firmly.
“There’s lots of people. There’s two cricketers who put their hands up and said at the time, ‘Why don’t we all just tell the truth, they can’t fire all of us’. That’s what happened.
“Two senior executives were in the changing room in Hobart and basically were berating the team for losing against South Africa (in 2016) and Warner said we’ve got to reverse-swing the ball. The only way we can reverse-swing the ball is by tampering with it.
“And they were told to do it.
“I’m completely against it, I think tampering with balls is a joke, but it has gone on for centuries. Everybody has been fiddling around with balls and the penalty at the time by the ICC was a one-match ban.
“I’m not suggesting that’s right because I don’t think you should tamper with the ball.
“This was blown out of all proportion, partly because of the Prime Minister, but partly for the total reaction of the general public.
“I totally agree, it wasn’t something that was good, but it’s got to the stage where three people have been completely victimised above everybody else.
“And it’s not fair.”
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