Australian ball-tampering scandal: Steve Smith, David Warner sent home on different flights to avoid each other

THE fallout following the ball-tampering affair has been so deep seated Australia feared if Steve Smith and David Warner were put on the same flight home it could turn out to be an abject debacle.

THE relationship between Steve Smith and David Warner has become so toxic they were deliberately put on separate planes home.

The fallout following the ball-tampering affair has been so deep seated Australia feared if the duo were put on the same flight home it could be an abject debacle if they were forced to face the same press conference in Sydney.

Smith’s state of mind was also considered so fragile the possibility of him having to spend time with Warner on the way home was the last thing he or Australia wanted.

David Warner and Steve Smith took separate routes home.

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It is normally customary for players to return from a tour together if they are heading to the same city but Warner and Smith were never going to catch the same plane even though it meant Warner arrived home four hours after Smith.

Smith flew home via Singapore while Warner went through Dubai.

So bad is the blood flowing that senior Australian officials have privately speculated they could have one but not both of Smith and Warner back in the team after their year-long bans expire.

Smith is far more likely to be the preferred choice.

While the fast bowlers were initially furious at Smith for saying the ball tampering was approved by “the leadership group’’ their anger is reportedly subsiding though Warner remains a pariah.

David Warner and family arrive back in Sydney on Thursday night.

Warner has basically gone rogue since the incident, taking himself off the team “whatsapp’’ and having minimal contact with his teammates.

One of the fast bowlers allegedly urged team management to “get Warner off the tour otherwise something could really blow up.’’

The revelation Warner was the mastermind of the ball tampering incident has cast a grim pall over the national selection panel, then chaired by Rod Marsh, who chose him as vice-captain and the weak Cricket Australia board who approved it.

Warner was appointed vice-captain for the worst possible reason - because of fears he would be a disruptive force in the side if he did not get the job.

In hindsight it would have been a big moment if someone in the Cricket Australia board had the courage to speak up against it, but they are not a board renowned for their courage.

Steve Smith gives a heartfelt apology as his dad looks on.

Several of them have a shallow knowledge of the game.

The incident has cast a searing spotlight on the board’s inability to arrest flagging standards of sportsmanship over the past five years.

It has got to the stage that in the last mission statement released last year there was no section on a commitment to the Spirit of Cricket which had previously been a long term inclusion.

Originally published as Australian ball-tampering scandal: Steve Smith, David Warner sent home on different flights to avoid each other