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In a significant development related to Cricket Australia (CA), former Australian cricketer Allan Border has voiced his opinion against the lifetime leadership ban on batting stalwart David Warner. Border suggested that CA re-consider their punishment of a lifetime leadership ban imposed on him for his involvement in the sandpaper gate scandal.
Notably, Australian player Cameron Bancroft was caught by a television camera trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper during the 3rd Test match of the series between Australia and South Africa. During the investigation, then Australia skipper Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were found to be involved in the ball-tampering scandal which came to be known as the Sandpaper gate scandal.
Both the players were banned for 12 months each from international and domestic cricket while Cameron Bancroft was banned for nine months. In addition while, Smith faced a two-year leadership ban, Warner was charged with a lifetime leadership ban.
Former Aussie captain Allan Border is the latest cricketing figure to support David Warner and urged Cricket Australia to introspect their verdict. During his interaction with The West Australian, Border claimed that the Australian batter has already served his punishment and should not be liable anymore.
"It was a harsh penalty in the first place. Let's get on with it, they have served their time. If all the captains put their hands on their hearts and say admit that they don't get indulge in such activity, they will be telling porky pies (lies)," he said. He further claimed that punishing Warner with a lifetime ban is a bit beyond the imagination.
The 66-year-old former World Cup-winning captain also stated that there is nothing wrong with scratching the ball with the hand. "What's so wrong in it. If you get the ball in your hand, just scratching the ball and working on it over a period of time to get the reverse swing, that's not a crime. On flat wickets, you need something to cause reverse swing. Otherwise, scores are just going to blow out," he added.
Earlier, Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins expressed his views on the same and stated that banning someone for life is something he 'disagrees' with. "I do have a view. People are allowed to learn, improve and grow. Fundamentally, I disagree with that concept. He is a fantastic leader around our squad here. If he has a formal role, he will be fantastic with that as well. So if that ever came up, he’d be great," he stated.