If the helmet fits: banned David Warner bats again

David Warner has blown the cobwebs off his kit, strapped on an Australian helmet and had his first hit in two months.

Suspended Australian cricketer David Warner trains in the inside nets at the SCG yesterday. Picture: John Feder

David Warner blew the cobwebs off his kit, strapped on an Australian helmet and had his first hit in two months yesterday.

The last time Warner batted was among the din and debris of the sandpaper scandal. It was day four of the infamous Cape Town match, he and Steve Smith had ­resigned their leadership roles ­before taking to the field in the morning.

A few days later they were banned from the game for 12 months.

Warner’s 32 was the highest score in that futile effort. Many thought it could be his last appearance in an Australian side.

Yesterday there were no crowds, or jeers, or cheers. Just the banished opener and his brother-in-law Pat Falzon feeding balls in the indoor nets at the SCG.

He didn’t want to talk but he didn’t mind being observed. He pops up on social media supporting the team but has a lot less to say these days.

He looked a bit rusty but he still hits a ball so hard it’s a wonder things don’t bend out of shape.

After 20 minutes he had cramps in a hand not used to wielding willow.

As well as the helmet, Warner wore his NSW Blues gear, emblazoned with the logo “What’s your Plan B”.

Smith, too, has been sighted in the vicinity in the past month. Sometimes his father comes down to feed balls into the bowling ­machine; other times he’s been with a personal trainer.

Two days ago he spoke to a private school group on Sydney’s north shore and admitted he cried for four days after the incidents in Cape Town. Warner went north last month and gave coaching clinics in Darwin.

The pair are in limbo. The Australian side is in London and preparing for its first hit-out since the dark days of South Africa later this week, ahead of a one-day series against England. The NSW Blues are also training, but they are preparing for a season in which Smith and Warner can play no part.

Both players are due to play in the GlobalT20 league in Canada in July but have no chance of returning to the Australian side until the end of March next year when their bans are lifted.