Recently retired cricket great David Warner has suggested Cricket Australia deliberately quashed ball-tampering allegations against India Ato avoid controversy ahead of the summer’s Test series.
A heated argument broke out between India A players and umpires in the touring side’s clash with Australia A in Mackay on Sunday.
Indian players were incensed to learn the officials at Great Barrier Reef Arena had changed the ball and took aim at umpire Shawn Craig, leading to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan being reported for dissent.
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Craig accused India A of “scratching” the ball and told the touring side, “Because of your actions, we changed the ball”.
Following the match, which Australia A won by seven wickets, Cricket Australia said in a statement provided to Wide World of Sports that India A had not tampered with the ball and cited “deterioration”.
CA also cleared Kishan of dissent.
Speaking at a Sydney Thunder press conference on Wednesday, Warner suggested the saga was killed off purely because powerful India is touring Australia this summer, starting in Perth on November 22.
“The ultimate decision’s with CA, isn’t it? I think they’ve obviously squashed it as fast as they could, given that India’s coming out here this summer,” Warner said.
“But if the umpires deem that something happened, then I’m sure there’ll be a follow-up.
“And I think the umpires or the match referee should be standing here answering those questions.
“The match referee should be coming out and addressing his own staff, who are the umpires, and if they’re sticking by the umpires’ decisions, then I think you’ve got to stand up for that.
“That’s obviously a statement that CA probably need to release.”
Warner has had a rocky relationship with CA ever since he was banned following the 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
He only recently had a lifetime leadership ban lifted, allowing him to captain the Thunder in the BBL this summer.
Warner’s comments followed those of fellow great Ian Healy, who was not so convinced India A was innocent.
“When you see a team complain about a ball being changed, they were up to something,” Healy said on SEN radio on Tuesday.
“India A were gearing up for a big reverse-swing session in order to get the Australians under pressure.”
Australia A was set 225 runs to win and the hosts chased it down in 75 overs, steered by top-order Test contender Nathan McSweeney in a knock of 88.
“Australia were chasing a small total and it just didn’t happen [for India A],” Healy added.
“The Australia A batters were oblivious to it. They just put their head down and performed really well.”
Few controversies rock the cricket world like claims or findings of ball-tampering.
The day Cameron Bancroft was caught scratching a ball with sandpaper in Cape Town in 2018 is considered by many as the darkest in Australian cricket history; even darker than the day Trevor Chappell bowled an underarm ball at the MCG in 1981.
Steve Smith received 12-month playing and leadership bans for his role in the Cape Town scandal, while Warner copped a 12-month playing suspension and the now-lifted lifetime leadership ban.
Bancroft received a ninth-month playing ban.