David Warner and Steve Smith on Saturday played together for the first time in Australia’s domestic T20 competition since being banned by Cricket Australia for a year after they were found guilty in the ball-tampering controversy that happened in March earlier this year. Soon after the match, David Warner opened up on his ban from the Australian national team. The 32-year-old said that he is “ashamed of what happened” in Cape Town Test.
“What happened (in Cape Town) was very disappointing, we are ashamed of what happened,” Warner was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
“At the end of the day I’m sitting here 12 months on the sideline, that’s my take on it. The end result and the long-form goal is to get back in the Baggy Green and play the World Cup (next year). But it’s a game at a time,” Warner added.
Apart from Smith and Warner, opening batsman Cameron Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal.
Talking about Australia’s victory against South Africa, Warner said, “That’s the hardest thing with the (Australia) team at the moment, but they had a tough win last night. To be positive and try and pump the boys up is the most important thing from where we sit right now. They’re training their backsides off to win games. If we can be a bit more positive in what we do, it will help them go a long away.”
