Candice Warner's explosive new claim in furore involving Sonny Bill Williams

Candice Warner has made stunning new claims that she was told to 'keep her mouth shut' by a Cricket Australia official after being taunted by fans over her toilet tryst with Sonny Bill Williams during the infamous tour of South Africa in 2018. The ill-fated tour was the scene one of the darkest scandals in Australian cricket history, with Cameron Bancroft caught tampering with the ball by rubbing sandpaper on it.

Bancroft was later hit with a nine-month ban by Cricket Australia, while captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned for 12 months. Smith was also hit with a two-year leadership ban, while Warner is banned for the rest of his career from holding a leadership position within Australian cricket.

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However it wasn't just the ball-tampering scandal that plagued the tour, with Warner also involved in an off-field altercation with South African wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock, and wife Candice being cruelly taunted by fans wearing masks of Sonny Bill's face. Candice was infamously filmed in a toilet cubicle with Williams without their consent at the Clovelly Hotel in 2007 - long before she met David.

Fans wore the Williams masks in an attempt to taunt the Warner family, with South African officials were also caught posing for photos with the same fans. The Warners were left fuming over the situation at the time, and Candice has now revealed Cricket Australia's staggering reaction.

Speaking on the Matty Johns podcast this week, Candice claimed: “I was even told by someone within Cricket Australia at the time within the team that it’s in the team’s best interest to keep your mouth shut. That fired me up, and David up … we have so much respect for the team, but we’re also human beings.

“There was no help, at all. It’s sad, because I learnt to just accept it.”

Candice also claimed her husband was kicked to the curb by CA in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal. David was regarded as the 'mastermind' of the plan that resulted in Bancroft being caught in the act.

“There was no support. Basically from when we left the hotel in South Africa, David was wiped,” she said.

“There was no Cricket Australia official helping him. There was nothing. It’s like basically you fend for yourself now, see you later. Thanks for your services.

“Probably, we’re going to do our best for you not to ever come back and play cricket for our country again. We’re going to blame you for everything, and that’s what they did.”

David expressed similar sentiments last year, saying: “The people that were close to me really looked out for me. Within the organisation though, nope. None.

“Unfortunately that’s what it was like back then. You were like this washing machine. You’re just rinsed out, recycled, next player comes in.

“A lot has changed since then and George Bailey and Andrew McDonald are doing a great job now. You expect the organisation to actually support you.”

Candice Warner breaks down re-living Sonny Bill scandal

Speaking on 'The Project' earlier this month, Candice broke down while re-living the 'hurt' of the scandal involving Williams in 2007. Candice, who was an elite ironwoman at the time, was 22 and single, while a 21-year-old Williams was just starting his NRL career with the Bulldogs and had a girlfriend.

“It’s really real for me, it’s the pain that I caused my family, it’s the pain and hurt, like it’s so deep. I just thought ‘this is it,’ I just couldn’t take it anymore," Candice said on 'The Project'.

“I couldn’t take the headlines, I couldn’t take disappointing my parents, I couldn’t take it all, it was all too much. From then on (my brother) Pat would check in on me daily and I felt like I needed to get to that point to be able to move on to a degree.”

Candice's new memoir 'Running Strong' was published last week. The cricket WAG has been busy promoting the new book in a number of media interviews.

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