am Bays wrote:There was stuff going on before Ssnd paper gate, Warner used to have his thumb and fingers strapped up to the max. Tge Elastoplast was used to rough up the ball I’m sure of it
I’m still of the opinion while everyone knew in the team Davy s job was to look after the ball and rough it up with his taped fingers, the sandpaper was new and a desperate act because we were getting our arses handed to us, and because the opposition knew what Warners job was it was Bancroft the fall guy with strip of 15 grit..
All iMO
For the record my beef here is not with Warner but CA for not showing the leadership required as custodians of the game. I go back to the trophy backdrop at Sydney in 2017-18. The behaviours of CA set the tone for our cricketers behaviours.
You're not alone in that thinking, I've been saying it for years, as have several others.
Warner was a gun first slip. Stood there for years and took some good catches.
We get pumped in Tassie against the reverse swinging ball (November 2016). - we don't pay you to play, we pay you to win.
Very next test he's at Mid-off, hands covered in tape. The excuse the public got told was he broke a thumb and cant risk it getting hit again. So for the next few years he's at mid-off, hands covered in tape, and the Aussies have the ball reversing.
2017/18 The aussies pump England, with the ball doing plenty.
Warner runs his mouth after the ashes, tells the poms how he does it, England ring South Africa and let them know. (
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... Ashes.html)
March 2018 we're over there, they have a camera fixed on Warner and a second camera fixed on the ball, constantly.
We get done doing what we did.
Warner serves his ban.
2019, he's back, and despite all those finger issues, very first test back, he's standing at First slip, no tape on the hands.
This was never a one off as a bad reaction to some SBW sledging he was copping in South Africa.
Cricket Australia told him to do it, he was loyal and agreed, and did it.
Then when caught; they hung him out to dry.
Yes he's an idiot, yes he deserves to serve a penalty.
But I can understand why he's upset that CA have treated him the way they have and a lot of those that knew about it got away with their roles in the process.
The known punishment was a fine or one match ban (Atherton, Trescothick, Waqar Younis, Afridi, Du Plessis x2, Philander, Tendulkar, Dravid, etc) Warner was more than happy to serve his. Instead CA handled it poorly, blew it out of all proportions then bowed to public pressure and slapped a year ban, plus a lifetime leadership ban on him.
He's an idiot, no doubt, but he's been treated exteremly poorly by CA and I have no issues with him feeling aggrieved.