Steve Smith and David Warner at loggerheads?

Identified as the chief conspirator of the ball-tampering incident following an internal inquiry, David Warner may never be asked to lead any cricket team in Australia again. However, Hyderabadi cricket fans might be happy to know that Warner will be back in IPL-12 to play for the Sunrisers, given that the rest of the team still wants him to, as per a source close to the team.

Warner has also been identified as a volatile personality, which could be a reason why Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft were sent home on different flights from South Africa. The ‘dangerous’ opener has been under the scanner ever since he had to be separated from Quinton de Kock near the dressing rooms during the Test series after the South African player bandied Mrs. Warner’s name in a sledge between the two.

Reports of bad blood between Smith and Warner have also been louder than whispers and, in fact, made it to the Australian tabloids after ‘sandpapergate’ blew up. The softer and more amenable Smith has been the Oz choice for captaincy over the explosive and mercurial Warner for years. Their differences popped out in the open after the ball-tampering news hit the fan. Cricket Australia has made it known that while Smith might be considered for a leadership role after the year-long ban runs out, Warner doesn’t have a chance of bouncing back.

Clearly, Smith is the accepted establishment favourite. But he may be losing admirers after revelations in the wake of the scandal that he may have snitched on Warner to save a bit of his skin. 

Apparently, the rivalry between the two is deep-rooted with Smith aware of his deputy’s massive match-winning talent across all three formats. Insiders aver that Smith has at every opportunity tried to outdo Warner so as to be Australia’s leading batsman and dominant skipper while his deputy has tried to mould his game to pick up enormously on his Test batting too.

What was first seen as healthy rivalry between the two may have become toxic on the South African tour as both hit a bad patch and the team was in danger of losing the series. Their fraught relations were said to have exploded in the scandal in which Smith tried to play the injured innocent who was forced to go along because of the team situation. Warner was made out to be the prime culprit while Smith came out with a few saving points with Cricket Australia. Close followers of the Australian team are aware of the inner tensions and are in a quandary now as to who to hate more or love less after cheating with the ball.

Is Warner more sinned against than a sinner? This is the question that arises after reports are emerging of how Smith may have used his dominant position in the team to keep his deputy in check. Warner’s competitiveness has often been mistaken for Aussie arrogance. But his teammates in Australia and Hyderabad know how much of a team man he is and how his aggression helped them win an IPL championship so early in the life of a fledgling IPL team. His image of spiralling out of control in stressful combat may not have helped him, but there is an underlying sympathy for Warner, more so in people who have known his underprivileged background as a youth in Sydney, NSW looking for his opening in life.

Warner’s mea culpa episode on Saturday outside Sydney Cricket Ground met with reactions as varied as the perceptions about the two key men involved in Australian cricket’s biggest sporting debate since last year’s pay dispute, in which the two players were, once again, principal characters. Not surprisingly, some have taken Warner apart for using his family to gain sympathy after his tearful reunion with wife Candice and their daughters at Sydney airport.

A sarcastic social media user, known simply as P@baabaa5, posted, “PR machine is already out with the Dave and Candice love story. The current affair interview will follow soon with Candice crying about impact on kids. All about the $$$$ (sic).”

However, not all are angry with Warner. Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan wrote, “This picture broke my heart, how can the cricket fans be so harsh. everyone make a mistake and best among them are those who accept their mistakes and apologise. So stand with the champ and support him when he really needs our support and love @davidwarner31 (sic).”

In fact, Warner did put up a human face, although body language and speech expert Michael Kelly (see box) believes that it was only his inner toughness that allowed a teary Warner to recover from bouts of high emotion and complete the interview.