Candice, the wife of Australian cricketer David Warner, called out the lifetime leadership ban on her husband, stating it to be “injustice”. Candice said she is affected by the ban, but added that her husband remains unperturbed as “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.” The remarks by Candice were made while she was speaking on Triple M, an Australian commercial radio network.
Arguably among the Australian greatest cricketers both Warner and Steve Smith were handed one-year suspension for their role in the infamous 2018 ball tampering scandal. However, a lifetime leadership ban was also imposed on Warner. Candice had raised the matter earlier when Smith was made Pat Cummins’ vice-captain last year.
Opening up about the one-year period, Candice said: “My job wasn’t to question my husband, it was about supporting David at that time.”
“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’.”
The debate over the lifetime leadership ban has resurfaced because of the ongoing situation in Big Bash League. Channel 7 had last week dragged Cricket Australia to court asking a termination of their $450 million broadcast deal and demanded compensation of the quality and lack of stars playing the tournament.
Candice mentioned there have been questions raised over Warner’s lack of involvement in the T20 tournament and it may have stemmed from the leadership ban. However, she defended her partner’s unwillingness to play in the tournament, stating Warner represents the country in all the three formats and needs some time off cricket 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.”
Warner has so far played just three BBL matches in which he also went to smash the league’s first ever century. He also led Sydney Thunder in his first match before switching Sixers.
In international cricket, Warner has previously vice-captain Australia in the Test and ODI formats between 2015 and 2018. He was also the captain of IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad after serving his one-year suspension.