Cricket Australia must take a stand over David Warner

TROUBLED Australian star David Warner denies he has a drinking problem. Cricket Australia is not convinced.

DAVID Warner denies he has a drinking problem.

Cricket Australia is not convinced. In the wake of Warner's four-week ban and $11,500 fine for punching England's Joe Root in a Birmingham bar at 2.30am last Sunday, CA is seeking professional advice on the left hander's relationship with alcohol.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland made that clear yesterday after strongly condemning the behaviour of Warner and five other Australian players who were drinking with him at the time of the incident.

"I will be taking expert advice on that within the team to make sure, with our various professionals, to make some additional judgments on that to provide whatever support is necessary," Sutherland said when asked about Warner's drinking.

"Whatever the case is, he is making some pretty ordinary decisions and getting himself into trouble."

During the latter stages of the IPL last month, when Warner was struggling with the Delhi Daredevils, he told CA that he was not drinking as part of his fitness campaign for this England tour.

Three Australians at the IPL contacted me directly to claim this was not the case.

One was scathing.

Warner also denied alcohol was involved in his expletive-laden 3am Twitter rant last month from India, when he was fined $5750. Again an Australian told me that Warner had been drinking.

There are fears that Warner is heading down the same path as Andrew Symonds, who was suspended for two one-day matches after being drunk on the morning of a match against Bangladesh in Cardiff.

Some CA officials now regret that Symonds was not taught a stern lesson at the time by being sent home.

He became progressively worse to the point where CA terminated his contract during the 2009 World Twenty20 in England for drinking. By contrast Ricky Ponting turned his cricketing life around to become Australia's most successful Test and one-day captain after some worrying nightclub incidents early in his career.

Ponting's life took a significant step forward when he fronted a press conference with a black eye and admitted he had a drinking problem after being flattened at a Kings Cross nightclub.

Warner was adamant his situation is different.

"Definitely not. I don't think I've got a drinking problem at all," Warner told a packed press conference in London. "It's just basically I've got to make the right decisions at the right time."

Warner admitted he had been drinking on other nights during his stay in Birmingham, but denied on those occasions to drinking until the early hours.Warner stressed that his situation shouldn't be compared to Ponting's.

"What's happened in the past with Ricky is Ricky's thing," he said. "This is up to me now to be accountable for my actions which I am.

"I have to apologise for what I did and I can't put myself in that position ever again.

"And not let the team down and everyone else down and in these circumstances try not to be aggressive like I did.

David Warner

"I've got to try and move on and do everything I can to get picked for this first Test now I'm unavailable for this Champions Trophy."

Warner claimed he was "extremely remorseful" and that he had let "not just my teammates down but the Cricket Australia fans, the support staff, myself, my family.

"I'm sincerely apologetic and I'm just here to put my hand up and apologise."

Warner refused to confirm speculation he reacted to Root using a wig as a beard to impersonate Muslim South African player Hashim Amla.

"That's irrelevant. Enough's been said," he said.

"I'm just here today to put my hand up and say I'm accountable for my actions."