David Warner says he now finally has closure on the ball-tampering scandal, after returning to his first leadership role in Australian cricket since 2018 at the Sydney Thunder.
Less than two weeks after his leadership ban was lifted, Warner was officially unveiled as the Thunder’s new BBL captain on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old, playing the first full BBL season of his career after retiring from international cricket, will take over the captaincy from Chris Green.
Warner’s lifetime leadership ban had been the last remaining sanction from sandpaper-gate.
“Quite clearly that was the last piece of that puzzle for me, and now it’s about coming out and sharing my knowledge of the game,” Warner said.
“Forever, that was probably going to be on my CV as well.
“You don’t want to look back when you go for a job interview and have ‘banned for life from a leadership perspective’ on your CV.
“That’s something that I’ll be able to now share with my girls moving forward that I’m able to actually be a leader.”
Warner had initially pushed to have his leadership ban lifted in 2022, but was left frustrated when the matter dragged on for 10 months and the independent panel pushed for the hearing to be public.
That ultimately prompted Warner to withdraw the review of his ban, costing him any chance to be Australia’s captain or vice-captain again.
This time the process was completed inside six weeks, aided by several aspects having been covered off in 2022.
“Two years ago that was probably me done, I thought I probably wouldn’t revisit it,” Warner said.
“The punishment that was handed down was there for a reason and I thoroughly accept that.
“You’re always going to be disappointed that you can’t lead but what was done was done and I moved on from that.
“But now I get the opportunity to lead the Thunder and share my wealth of knowledge about the game.
“Hopefully some of the youngsters can come ask me some questions after the game, decisions that I’ve made or some errors that I might have made.”
Warner’s leadership come with its challenges, given he is now also employed as a Fox Sports commentator and analyst.
The former Test opener this week pointed to flaws he felt were in Cameron Bancroft’s technique, who will be part of Warner’s Thunder squad.
“The beauty is this is Big Bash cricket, it’s not Shield cricket,” Warner said.
“I am talking (in commentary) about the Australian Test team, I’m not in that any more. That’s what I am paid to do.
“In my position as a captain in the Thunder team, I will have those conversations (about T20 cricket) behind closed doors.
“If there is something I do comment on with any of the guys who are in my team, about the red-ball stuff, we can have those conversations.
“We’re adults, and that’s the day and age we live in.”
