Sydney, Nov 6: Australian star David Warner was on Wednesday appointed as captain of Big Bash League side Sydney Thunder, returning to a leadership role in Australian cricket six years after being implicated in the ball-tampering scandal on a tour of South Africa.
His lifetime leadership ban was overturned by Cricket Australia last month, paving the way for his captaincy before he bids goodbye to competitive cricket. He retired from the international game after Australia elimination in the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean in June.
Warner, 38, served a one-year game from the game for his involvement in the Newlands ball-tampering scandal in 2018 alongside Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.
Returning to leadership role is a huge moment for Warner and the significance was not lost on the swashbuckling opener who regaled everyone with his explosive batting.
“Captaining the Thunder again this season means a lot to me. I was part of the team from the start, and now to be back with that ‘C’ next to my name feels fantastic. I’m looking forward to leading from the front and sharing my experience with the young talent coming through,” Warner said in a statement on Wednesday.
The former Australian player replaced all-rounded Chris Green as Thunder’s captain ahead of this year’s campaign. The 2016 BBL winners finished at the bottom of the table in the last edition.
Despite his CA imposed leadership ban, Warner has captained teams in franchise cricket around the world including Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL.
Warner, who has played 110 T20 Internationals for Australia, has previously led Thunder back in 2011.
Warner became eligible for captaincy after Cricket Australia’s Code of Conduct Commission revoked the ban citing it has “achieved its purpose”, after the combative cricketer had appeared before the independent panel comprising three members.
Backs McSweeney to open against India
Warner backed Australia A captain Nathan McSweeney to open for Australia in the upcoming five-match Test series against India.
Since Warner’s retirement from the format in January, Australia have struggled to find a player good enough to fill the huge void at the top of the order. But Warner has picked McSweeney as the man for the challenge against India, terming him a “complete player”.
“I think McSweeney’s got the runs on the board, but I think you look further down the track as well. I know you’ve got Marnus (Labuschagne) and Travis Head and Mitch Marsh, but he’s got leadership potential as well,” Warner was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.
“He looks a complete player, and I think he’s a good fit with Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) at the top of the order. We’re in a good position, and we’ve got a lot of talent, which is exciting,” he added.
McSweeney has so far scored 2213 runs in 33 first-class matches at an average of 38.82.
The upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy will start on November 22 in Perth, followed by matches in Adelaide (Dec 6-10), Brisbane (Dec 14-18), Melbourne (Dec 26-30), and Sydney (Jan 3-7). (PTI)
