Warner's wonderful gesture for sick fan revealed
The mother of a young cricket fan battling a life-threatening illness has revealed the softer side of banned Aussie vice-captain David Warner.
Warner found himself at the centre of an international furore during their 3-1 Test series loss to South Africa, which saw Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft banned for conspiring to alter the condition of the ball.
Warner has copped the majority of the criticism from the media and public after convincing Bancroft to rub sandpaper on the ball during the third Test in Cape Town.
But as he begins his 12-month exile from the game, a mother from the NSW mid north coast has opened up about a brilliant gesture from the under-fire opener.
Chris Vincent has two sons both suffering from a rare disease requiring a heart transplant.
In January, Chris took 19-year-old son Jesse to the SCG to watch the Aussies train, and she was floored by the kindness displayed by Warner.
“When David Warner heard that Jesse was running out of time for a life-saving heart transplant, he took Jesse aside and spent at least 20 minutes with him," Jesse told WWOS.
"There were no cameras around… no fanfare… he just seemed a down to earth, compassionate fellow Australian and family man concerned about my son’s fate."
After Jesse was lucky enough to receive a new heart in February, Warner got in contact to congratulate him.
"David Warner found out about it and sent him an email expressing his happiness that Jesse’s life had been saved.
"He didn’t have to spare his time to send well wishes to a kid he met once… but he did.”
Meanwhile, former Australia batting coach Michael Di Venuto has defended the culture of the Test team and wants administrators to come under similar scrutiny to the players.
Di Venuto spent three years working under former coach Darren Lehmann before joining English side Surrey in 2016 and remains close to his former boss and banned duo Smith and Warner.
The former Tasmania opener believes the superstar pair and Bancroft have endured savage character assassination in the wake of the incident in South Africa, which led to a cultural review of the team being announced by Cricket Australia.
"I didn't think there was any cultural issues during my involvement with the Australian team," Di Venuto said.
"We had some good success with Ashes wins and the World Cup. I loved being a coach under Darren Lehmann and I love the culture he created.
"And the players loved the environment as well.
"Obviously with the events that have happened recently, all of a sudden people are blaming culture and things like that."
with AAP