Crash Craddock: How will David Warner react to Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft ball tampering confessions

David Warner is now the wildcard in Australia’s healing from the Sandpapergate scandal. And he could go one of two ways — once he finally decides to speak — Robert Craddock writes.

David Warner was inconsolable at his press conference following the ball tampering saga. What will he say when he speaks next? Picture: AAP

David Warner has been trapped by his future and his past.

The closer the return of the Australia’s ball-tampering trio becomes, the more obvious the massive challenges ahead.

Australia has lost its last four Ashes campaigns in England with generally happy teams so how do you reckon they will fare next year as they try to put Humpty Dumpty back together after the ball-tampering scandal?

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David Warner was inconsolable at his press conference following the ball tampering saga. What will he say when he speaks next? Picture: AAP

Australia is set to spend almost four months in England next year for the World Cup and Ashes series and the bare minimum requirement for success during these marathon campaigns is that the team is happy and united in their support of each other.

Anything less than that spells doom. If ball-tampering tensions are not resolved by the two England campaigns you might as well not bother touring.

Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft have bared parts of their soul over the past week and came out of their interviews reasonably well — Warner didn’t.

Smith, in his general press conference, and Bancroft, in his chat with Adam Gilchrist on Fox Cricket, could not have been more categorical — using sandpaper on the ball was not their idea.

It’s gone from being a decision made by the leadership group, as initially explained by Smith, to Warner’s alone.

Both Smith and Bancroft now curse themselves for not being stronger — Smith for not overruling it and Bancroft for agreeing to do it.

Cameron Bancroft during his interview with Adam Gilchrist on Fox Cricket.

But in distancing themselves from Warner they fire up debate over how things will fare when — if — the band gets back together.

Cricket Australia is so worried about it they will counsel the dressing room before deciding on a course of action and whether Warner should be recalled.

This is a very rare occurrence. It is a better than 50-50 chance Warner will be recalled but its not over the line yet.

Warner is the wildcard in all of this. His comeback interview has the potential to be the most explosive of the lot.

What made him do it? Did he do it before? Who else knew? Does he feel abandoned? How does he feel about carrying the can for an action which was designed to help bowlers who immediately claimed they knew nothing about it?

Warner is cornered between his sins and his salvation.

If he named names of others he thought might have known — if there were others — the dressing room would simply explode.

Will we see David Warner in full flight for Australia again? Picture: Getty Images

But if he says “well yes, as you have heard it was all my idea and no-one else knew apart from Bancroft and Smith’’ would he have difficulty living with his own straight-shooting instincts if that was not the case.

It has often been reported that relations between Warner and several members of the bowling attack have remained strained since the ball tampering affair.

Will they all just collectively agree to suck it up? Will tension linger?

In a sense Australia has moved on from the ball tampering scandal but the dark shadow still lingers.

The full facts are not known. Friendships remain broken. Wounds are still bleeding.

And the most chastening fact of all is that they may never properly heal.

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Originally published as Crash Craddock: How will David Warner react to Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft ball tampering confessions