David Warner dropped by sponsors LG as disgraced Australia batsman resigns as captain of IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad
Australian opener has been sent home from South Africa for his role in the ball-tampering scandal that has shamed the nation’s cricket team ahead of a ‘significant sanction’
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Your support makes all the difference.David Warner has been dropped by sponsors LG as he awaits his “significant sanction” for his role in Australia’s ball-tampering scandal, with the batsman set to be permanently stripped of the vice-captaincy after being sent home in disgrace from South Africa.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland confirmed on Tuesday that Warner, captain Steve Smith and batsman Cameron Bancroft had all been sent home from the tour of South Africa for their roles in last Saturday’s ball-tampering incident, in which Bancroft was caught trying to manipulate the condition of the ball with a piece of yellow sticky tape that had granules of dirt stuck to it.
Smith had already been banned by the International Cricket Council [ICC] for one Test after admitting that he had planned to cheat following a meeting with the “leadership group”, but Sutherland claimed in a Johannesburg press conference that the knowledge of the incident was between Smith, Warner and Bancroft only, and that none of the other senior players in the side nor coach Darren Lehmann were involved in the shameful incident.
The fallout from the biggest scandal in Australian cricket history has only just begun, with Smith, Warner and Bancroft all set to discover their punishments from Cricket Australia on Wednesday that Sutherland has said will be “significant”.
There has also been the possibility of sponsors ditching the shamed trio, and that has now become a reality for Warner after he was dropped by South Korean multinational electronics company LG, who have announced that they will not renew his contract following the scandal.
“LG’s current sponsorship of David Warner is in the final weeks and in light of recent events, we have decided not to renew our partnership,” an LG spokeswoman said in a statement.
Warner, who has worked with LG as a brand ambassador since 2014, has also resigned as captain of the Indian Premier League side Sunrisers Hyderabad in the wake of the incident.
Several of Cricket Australia’s sponsors have said that they will await the results of the full investigation into the ball-tampering saga, which Sutherland has announced remains ongoing, before they make a decision on their future agreements with the governing body.
The three players are facing lengthy bans from Cricket Australia that could be up to a year, which would rule them out of the summer One-Day International tour of England this year but see them available for next summer’s Ashes series in the United Kingdom.
With Smith absent, 33-year-old wicketkeeper Tim Paine has been appointed captain for the remaining Test against the Proteas, with Lehmann continuing to lead the side that is now shorn of three of its key players and 2-1 down in the series. Addressing Lehmann’s situation in his press conference, Sutherland said: “I want to apologise to all Australians for what took place.
“The key finding is that prior knowledge of the ball-tampering incident was limited to three players – captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and Cameron Bancroft.
“No other players or support staff had prior knowledge and this includes Darren Lehmann, who despite inaccurate media reports has not resigned from his position. He will continue to coach the Australia men’s team under his current contract.
“The three players on report, we are contemplating significant sanctions which will reflect the gravity of what has occurred and the damage it has done to the standing of Australian cricket.
“I fully understand the wish for urgency, however urgency must be balanced with due process.
“We’ll complete the process by tomorrow morning and in the next 24 hours we’ll be in a position to announce sanctions.”
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