Cricket Australia may be powerless to stop David Warner captaining BBL franchises despite ban
With fears David Warner could be shut out of the Australian cricket scene, administrators have cast doubt on Cricket Australia’s controversial captaincy ban.
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Questions have been raised about the validity of David Warner’s Big Bash captaincy ban as Todd Greenberg said he would support a review of the lifetime penalty.
Warner was barred from ever holding a leadership position in any form of Australian cricket again for his role in the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal, and there’s a resignation he’ll never be seen in the BBL again unless the harsh sanction was lifted.
However, News Corp can reveal fresh doubt has been cast by leading State and BBL administrators over whether CA would actually have the power to enforce the ban if a club were to go ahead and signed Warner as their skipper.
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It comes as Australian Cricketer’s Association chief Greenberg declared he’d welcome any discussion with Cricket Australia about revisiting the ban, while cricket’s official broadcasters at Fox Sports also joined calls for Warner to be returned to the BBL.
Cricket Australia runs its domestic competitions and controls integrity matters, but questions have been asked about whether their control could extend to vetoing captaincy choices by BBL clubs and States.
“All leadership positions for Victorian teams are proposed by the General Manager of the relevant team ... the Cricket Victoria Board then approves or rejects the proposal,” Cricket Victoria chief, Nick Cummins told News Corp.
“Cricket Australia has no say in the appointment of captains of Victorian teams. If Warner is allowed to play BBL, which he is, then I would expect it is up to his club as to whether he is captain or not.”
As Warner, who turns 35 later this month, enters the twilight of his international career, players’ boss Greenberg said it would be a huge loss for the sport if the global superstar was stopped from imparting his vast experience on younger players in a leadership capacity at BBL level.
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“Prior to my time, the ACA advocated strongly for Dave Warner to have the opportunity for a leadership role at some level of the game in the future. I certainly haven’t had those discussions since I started but clearly David Warner has a lot to offer the game … and if that was a discussion to be opened we’d welcome that with Cricket Australia,” Greenberg told News Corp.
“Shane Watson is a great example of someone who played an enormous amount of cricket despite the fact he retired from international Test cricket and the Australian side, he gave back … and that leadership role has been very, very valuable for the next generation of players coming through.
“As evidenced by the leadership role David has played in the IPL in India … I think what is clear in all facets of life, and cricketers are no different, is occasionally people will make mistakes. But people are judged on how you respond from those mistakes. And the opportunity to actually bring the next generation of player through, is what leadership is all about.”
Privately administrators concede it would hurt the BBL if Warner retired from playing for Australia and instead chose to head to cricket leagues in the UAE and Pakistan instead, and Fox Sports boss Steve Crawley said returning Warner to the Big Bash must be a priority for the game.
“I feel strongly about David Warner. We all know David has made mistakes and one big mistake. But he’s served his time,” said Crawley.
“I sometimes wonder if we realise how blessed we are to be watching him bat and to me the guy is a superstar and Fox Sports is in the entertainment business and David Warner belongs there.”
Cricket Australia declined to comment but it’s understood the BBL would unequivocally love to have Warner once he’s retired from international cricket.
BBL sources said they were unsure whether the leadership ban would hold water if tested, or whether CA would be motivated to oppose any attempt by a club to name Warner, with key figures involved at the time of the Sandpapergate bans like Chairman Earl Eddings and integrity boss Sean Carroll no longer at the organisation.
Warner said in an interview with Sports Today in India that he relishes captaincy.
“(Captaincy) is definitely something I love doing,” Warner said when asked about his IPL ambitions.
“If it did arise, I’d love to do it. A person of my character can get people up and about. I’m energetic, I call a spade a spade, I would love every individual to perform at their best and hold everyone accountable to their actions.
“It makes me play a lot better.”
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Originally published as Cricket Australia may be powerless to stop David Warner captaining BBL franchises despite ban
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