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Teammates in bombshell boycott threat over David Warner

Australia’s bowlers reportedly threatened to boycott the fourth Test in South Africa last March unless David Warner was stood down.

According to Fairfax, multiple sources have said Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon all wanted to withdraw from the final Test against South Africa if Warner was allowed to play.

Warner was later identified as the architect of the sandpaper plot that saw the Australian side caught ball-tampering in the third Test of the ill-fated series.

While Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were immediately stood down by the ICC, Warner initially escaped sanction and looked like playing in the fourth Test.

Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Pat Cummins. (Image: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)
Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Pat Cummins. (Image: WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

He was later told he couldn’t play, meaning the bowlers didn’t have to follow through with the threat.

But on the day Warner and Steve Smith’s one-year bans officially end, the bombshell new report will do nothing to ease concerns about dressing room tension.

‘Don’t have to be best mates’

Cricket Australia chief Kevin Roberts on Thursday dismissed concerns over the return of the team’s former leaders unsettling the resurgent side.

Smith and his deputy Warner were slapped with a one-year international ban, while rookie Bancroft was suspended for nine months for their role in the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa.

“What we’re focused on is doing everything we can to support Dave, Steve, Cameron and all the other players in support staff with this reintegration to build harmony rather than to disrupt the harmony that is building,” Roberts was quoted as saying at the Melbourne Press Club by the Sydney Morning Herald.

“At the same time, let’s be open about it. At any workplace you don’t have to be best mates with everyone you work with. There needs to be a foundation of respect, absolutely.

Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Steve Smith. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
Nathan Lyon, David Warner and Steve Smith. (Photo by Ryan Pierse – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)

“I think there’s growing respect there and we’ll continue to support players, with the right discussions, and work those through to continue building respect in those relationships,” he added.

“As to whether every player in the men’s team or women’s team is best mates with the rest of their teammates, it’s not far different to any other workplace where we’ll have some very close friendships, some cordial relationships and some that are a bit more challenging,” Roberts further stated.

Warner and Smith on Friday completed the 12-month suspension imposed by CA and the two are now free to continue with their international commitments.

Australia’s performance in the shorter format has been impressive in the last two months as back-to-back away ODI series wins over India and Pakistan have revived their hopes of defending the World Cup title in England and Wales in May-June.

with agencies