Candice Warner blasts David Warner’s leadership ban ‘injustice’

Candice Warner has revealed she is still bothered by one of the lingering impacts the ball tampering scandal has had on her husband.

Candice Warner has gone in to bat for her husband. Photo: Instagram and AFP

The wife of Australian cricket opening batsman David Warner has blasted the “injustice” of the leadership ban imposed by Cricket Australia.

Speaking on Triple M’s Deadset Legends with Dan, Richard and Candice, the ironwoman turned media personality Candice Warner said David’s lifetime leadership ban in the wake of the 2018 ball tampering scandal bothered her more than it did her husband.

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The pair have been married since 2015 and have three children together, and Candice was by David’s side throughout the ball tampering scandal.

Candice has previously been outspoken on the leadership ban, particularly when Steve Smith was made Pat Cummins’ vice-captain last year.

Both Warner and Smith were stood down from Australian cricket for a year after the sandpaper scandal, but Warner was also slapped with a lifetime leadership ban.

However, last week Test skipper Cummins called for Warner’s leadership banishment to end.

“(Warner) is a fantastic leader around our squad here,” Cummins said..” If he has a formal role, he’d be fantastic with that as well. So if that ever came up, he’d be great.”

But speaking on Triple M, Candice said while David “has just accepted it”, she was still annoyed by the ban.

“Yeah it bothers me. I don’t like injustice so it does bother me,” she said.

“But it doesn’t really bother him because he can go and captain in the UAE, he can go and captain in India where people appreciate his cricketing brain and what he can bring to a team.”

Warner is in Sri Lanka with the Aussie Test team. Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP

The fact that Warner made it back at all was no mean feat after he was painted as the ringleader of the ball-tampering scandal.

Candice said there were plenty of times she wasn’t sure about her husband’s cricketing future during his year ban.

“My job wasn’t to question my husband, it was about supporting David at that time,” Candice said.

“For me, it was about being his strength as much as I could be. I didn’t think too much about anything. There were definitely times where as a family it was like ‘what’s next’.

“But you take each day as it comes and there were plenty of opportunities for David to play in Canada and in the Caribbean. There are definitely times when as an athlete you go, ‘okay well, I could go sit there and get really upset or I set goals moving forward’.”

Candice was David’s rock. Photo: AFP PHOTO / PETER PARKS

As for why the discussion has resurfaced about David’s leadership ban, Candice said the Big Bash’s current predicament had sparked questions.

The Big Bash was in the news last week after free-to-air cricket broadcaster Channel 7 took CA to court over its $450 million broadcast deal, citing its lack of star power.

Candice said there were questions over her husband’s lack of involvement in the Aussie T20 tournament may have stemmed from the leadership ban.

David, who was previously vice-captain for Australia in the Test and ODI formats between 2015 and 2018, has captained the likes of IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad since his return to cricket.

But with the BBL looking to add more star power, both with international stars and Australian players once the Test series is over, Candice said David didn’t play BBL because he represents Australia in three formats and doesn’t get an off-season to spend with his family.

“David has an incredible T20 record in India, in Australia, he’s one of our best ever,” Candice said.

“Regardless of whether the ban is lifted of not, if he plays Big Bash, it’s a decision we talk about what’s best for the family in this period,

“Also there’s another league going on in the UAE, which financially (has) much bigger money. It’s not just a matter of lifting Dave’s ban, it’s a matter of what’s best for our family. And Dave’s just accepted he has this ban now.”

David, Candice and the Warner kids. Photo: Instagram

David has tallied just three BBL matches with one across each of the competition’s first three seasons, including the competition’s first ever century.

He also captained the Sydney Thunder in his first match before moving to the Sydney Sixers for his next two matches.

Last season Warner said he would look into playing more BBL when he finished his international career.

Also last season, Australian Cricketer’s Association boss Todd Greenberg said he would welcome a discussion with Cricket Australia about revisiting the ban.

Victorian cricket boss Nick Cummins also suggested CA had limited power to stop BBL clubs or states teams naming Warner captain.