Ian Chappell says David Warner’s leadership ban came down to a case of ‘like’ and ‘dislike’
Whether Steve Smith will ever captain Australia again remains unknown, but the fact he can and David Warner can’t is a decision Ian Chappell says the Cricket Australia board based on a popularity contest.
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- Smith, Warner to confront past on Newlands return
- Partnerships key as Aussies strive to keep Cup hopes alive
As Australia prepares to re-enter the infamous Cape Town dressing room, Ian Chappell has claimed that David Warner was singled out for prejudicial treatment in cricket’s ball-tampering scandal.
The Test legend believes Steve Smith’s imminent availability to captain Australia again compared to Warner’s life ban from leadership doesn’t match up, and was a decision made on “like” and “dislike”.
In almost all respects, Australian cricket has moved on from the seismic events of Sandpapergate, and Chappell says the game is indebted to Tim Paine for the enormous role he’s played in salvaging the reputation of the Test team.
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Warner said on the eve of early Thursday’s Twenty20 decider that he has no apprehension about walking back through the front gates at Newlands, insisting “the past is the past”. A 50-run partnership between he and Smith in Port Elizabeth on Sunday was symbolic of the effectiveness of the rebuild Paine and Justin Langer have engineered.
But ahead of Australia’s return to the scene of Sandpapergate, there is one question which will continue to linger as long as Smith and Warner are playing for their country.
Whether Smith will ever captain Australia again remains unknown, but the fact he can and Warner can’t is a decision Chappell says the board based on a popularity contest.
“To me, this is a decision that has been made on like and dislike. Obviously there is more dislike of Warner than there is of Smith, so consequently, because like and dislike has come into it, they’ve made an incorrect decision,” Chappell said.
“I thought that was a mistake. If you’re going to ban David Warner from all leadership for life, then why isn’t Smith banned for a lifetime? I can’t match that up at all.
“In my eyes, I just couldn’t match up this vitriol, with the fact that it was pretty well lumped on Warner and not much on Smith.”
Ahead of Australia’s return on Wednesday night, Cape Town ground officials have promised to move to cut off any repeats of the ugly scenes of two years ago when an abusive fan managed to get in Warner’s face as he was walking off the field.
Cricket South Africa have been ruthless on crowd behaviour so far on this tour, with two fans ejected from the first match in Johannesburg for waving sandpaper.
The crackdown message has been heard loud and clear by security staff and fans, with the atmosphere at both The Wanderers and Port Elizabeth festive and almost devoid of abuse.
However, the big test will be going back to the scene of the crime in Cape Town.
For his part, Warner said he returns to Newlands bearing no demons or hang ups.
“The past is the past and you have to focus on what’s ahead and that’s the game,” said Warner.
“It’s a lovely place. I’ve been pretty much overwhelmed by the support we’ve had from the fans. Didn’t cop anything on the fence (in game two of the series in Port Elizabeth).”
Chappell admits it would be over the top to describe Warner’s punishment as “unfair” given the seriousness of the cheating.
But Chappell said Warner’s outspoken role during the pay dispute with Cricket Australia may have been used against him.
“I suspect he copped more vitriol than Smith because David was really the player who was speaking out during the MOU (pay dispute). I suspect that was part of it. The usual greedy bloody players, which is the way the administrators always try and paint the picture and I think the public fell for that,” he said.
“Because David was the one who was having the most to say, I think David copped a lot of the lashing out of that.”
Chappell commended Warner for how he’s handled his ban.
“I’d say as far as David is concerned, the punishment has changed him and changed him for the better,” he said.
“I’ve always had a lot of time for David and I think he’s handled it very well.”