Australian cricketers were encouraged to cheat

DAVID Warner’s manager James Erskine has given the clearest indication that the 2018 ball-tampering saga was wider than first reported, stating there were “far more” than three people involved.

Warner was sensationally banned for a year and stripped of leadership privileges for life for the incident in Newlands, South Africa back in 2018, of which he was painted as the instigator.

Steve Smith, the Australian captain at the time, was also handed a year-long ban and additional 12 months with no leadership positions, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month suspension.

Erskine’s comments come on the back of Warner declaring he would no longer continue with the appeal of his leadership ban, which was made possible following a Cricket Australia policy change last month.

Warner said he refused to go through a public hearing.

Speaking on SEN 1170 Afternoons, Erskine claimed Warner had protected CA for years, but that the truth would come out.

“The Prime Minister came out [at the time], [Malcolm] Turnbull came out and said this is a disgrace and whatever, I think he regrets those comments now, Cricket Australia had the whole process, the [Iain] Roy report was done in four days,” Erskine said.

“You’d have to be a blind black Labrador, there was far more than three people involved in this thing, they all got a canning and David Warner was completely villainized.

“He has shut up, he protected Cricket Australia, he protected his fellow players on my advice, because at the end of the day no one wanted to hear any more of it and he’s got on playing cricket.”

Erskine launched further explosive claims that detail how the Australian cricket team was encouraged to cheat by “executives” in Hobart, 2016.

Australia suffered a record-breaking loss at the hands of South Africa when bowled out for 85 in the second innings in that game in a clash that led to widespread change in the XI.

“The truth will come out, let me tell you,” Erskine exclaimed.

“There’s lots of people. There’s two cricketers who put their hands up and said at the time, ‘Why don’t we all just tell the truth, they can’t fire all of us’. That’s what happened.

“Two senior executives were in the changing room in Hobart and basically were berating the team for losing against South Africa [in 2016] and Warner said we’ve got to reverse-swing the ball. The only way we can reverse-swing the ball is by tampering with it.

“And they were told to do it.

“I’m completely against it, I think tampering with balls is a joke, but it has gone on for centuries. Everybody has been fiddling around with balls and the penalty at the time by the ICC was a one-match ban.

“I’m not suggesting that’s right because I don’t think you should tamper with the ball.

“This was blown out of all proportion, partly because of the Prime Minister, but partly for the total reaction of the general public.

“I totally agree, it wasn’t something that was good, but it’s got to the stage where three people have been completely victimised above everybody else.

“And it’s not fair.”

Erskine did not directly state the executives involved were from Cricket Australia.

In a lengthy statement on Wednesday night, Warner slammed CA’s process for the appeal hearing, claiming it would lead to a public hearing. The opener has demonstrated significant on-field reform since his ban more than four years ago.

“They want to conduct a public spectacle to, in the panel’s words, have a ‘cleansing’. I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry,” Warner’s statement said.

“It appears that the panel has given no more than passing consideration to issues of player welfare and the interests of Australian cricket and is instead determined to conduct a public lynching.

“Regrettably, I have no practical alternative at this point in time but to withdraw my application. I am not prepared to subject my family or my teammates to further trauma and disruption by accepting a departure from the way in which my application should be dealt with pursuant to the code of conduct.”

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN