David Warner goes ‘rogue’ as bowlers finger him as ball tampering mastermind

AUSTRALIA’S bowlers and the wider playing group want David Warner kicked off the tour, fingering him as the mastermind behind the tampering plot after the rogue opener threw his teammates under the bus.

David Warner has gone rogue as the team’s fast bowlers turn on the opener.

CRICKET’S ball tampering scandal has torn apart the Australian dressing room and sparked a massive falling-out between David Warner and the team’s irate fast bowlers.

In a fierce feud sparked by Warner’s alleged testimony to Cricket Australia’s integrity officers in Cape Town, members of the attack are livid that they have been linked to the ball tampering scandal.

It’s understood Warner has removed himself from the players’ group on ‘whatsapp’ in a sign that he has gone rogue and may have played his last Test match for Australia.

David Warner sits alone in the team hotel.

David Warner has gone rogue as the team’s fast bowlers turn on the opener.

There is a feeling among other players that Warner is willing to throw everyone else under the bus in a bid to take the heat off his own role in the controversy.

So livid are they that they want him off the tour.

LIVE COVERAGE: SMITH, WARNER, LEHMANN LEARN THEIR FATE

An online story published in the afternoon by Nine Sport, outlined claims that the bowlers were involved in the sinister plot to cheat in the third Test in Cape Town. Players fear that Warner was a source.

LISTEN! A special ball tampering crisis Cricket Unfiltered episode is out with News Corp’s Russell Gould and Andrew Menczel dissecting the fallout of the Australian cheating scandal.

You can download Cricket Unfiltered from the iTunes store

The fast bowlers, and it’s understood the wider playing group, have seemingly told Cricket Australia chiefs Pat Howard and Iain Roy that the ball tampering plot was a discussion had between Warner and Cameron Bancroft, with Steve Smith guilty of sitting on his hands as captain and not intervening.

The consensus is that Smith was covering for Warner when in his press conference he said that the lunch time discussion about tampering with the ball was concocted between members of ‘the leadership group’.

GONE: Dave Warner ‘out of fourth Test’

GILLESPIE: Smith and Warner reign is over

BACK UP: Renshaw rushed into Australian team

OUTRAGE: CA to throw book at Smith, Warner

CRASH: Cricket Australia sick of Warner’s b******t

TREVOR CHAPPELL: ‘This will haunt them forever’

This was alluded to by NSW star Moises Henriques in a tweet on Monday night where he theorised that Smith was taking the fall for Bancroft.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland has arrived in Johannesburg and is expected to hand down heavy sanctions by Wednesday morning Sydney time.

It’s anticipated Smith and Warner will be stripped of their leadership duties and cop hefty bans, while coach Darren Lehmann is also in line to be sacked.

Warner won’t be banned for life, but the bitter divide between he and much of the dressing room means he may never return to the baggy green.

The fallout will continue over the coming days, but this is a broken Australian dressing room.

There are threats also from CA and the BCCI in India to prevent Warner and Smith from playing in the IPL this year which stands to earn them $2.4 million each.

If Warner is cut loose from Australian cricket then he will look to make his money on the international Twenty20 circuit, however that may be made more difficult if it’s revealed he has turned on his mates.

In cricket terms, such a reputation can be hard to come back from.

Smith is understood to be distraught by the ordeal and sincerely apologetic to CA chiefs and teammates.

The captaincy appears gone for Smith, but he appears more likely to receive a second chance.

David Warner arrives with teammates, at the Cape Town International airport.

Originally published as David Warner goes ‘rogue’ as bowlers finger him as ball tampering mastermind