David Warner served this time, banning him for life for leadership is fundamentally wrong – Steve Smith

Following Australia’s Test series win over the West Indies in a Day/Night Test in Adelaide on Sunday, stand-in captain Steve Smith came out in support of David Warner over leadership role. Alongside Cameron Bancroft, Warner and Smith were other two players who were suspended for one year by Cricket Australia (CA) for their involvement in Sandpaper Gate back in 2018. Though Smith was barred from holding any leadership role across formats for 12 months, Warner was handed a life ban for the same.

Speaking on matter that has again gained spotlight after Warner’s manager laid open allegations on CA claiming they knew about everything beforehand, Steve Smith backed his teammate saying banning some for life for captaincy when he has served the punishment like others is fundamentally wrong.

“From my point of view, banning someone for life from leadership is just fundamentally wrong,” Smith told media on Sunday afternoon. “David served his time like I did.

David is regarded as one of the leaders in that group, having already proved his worth in the past by winning IPL title in 2016 with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Now with Australia slated to play South Africa in the three-match Test series starting December 17th at the Gabba, Smith wants Warner to keep this noise away and get on with the batting. He believes since Warner has decided to let go of the review – of allowing him to get in line for leadership roles, David can do what he does best – smashing runs at the top.

“For us, we know he’s a leader around the group, and on and off the field he’s doing a tremendous job. It’s been a difficult one for him, it’s been a difficult week,” Smith said.

“David has said he’s done and dusted (with the review) and wants to get on with it. He’s got our full support. Hopefully he can have a really big series for us against South Africa with the bat.”

Against the West Indies, Steve Smith scored 255 runs in two matches while Warner could manage a mere 102 across four innings.