David Warner has refuted rumours of a rift with former captain Steve Smith in the wake of the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, saying the banned Australian duo remain “good mates”. Warner returned to professional cricket in Canada’s Global Twenty20 league on Friday.
“Steve and me are good mates. If people hang in the hotel, they’ll see us hanging out with each other and stuff. At the end of the day, it was a big thing that happened and for us, you’ve got to handle it in your individual way and then how you handle it collectively,” Warner said.
A day after Smith made 61 on his return to cricket in the same tournament, Warner was bowled by Lasith Malinga’s second ball in a far briefer stint at the batting crease. It was Warner’s first match since the ball tampering incident.
“We haven’t really been able to catch up because he’s (Smith) been away, Cameron’s (been in Perth) and I’ve been doing what I’m doing and got family at home. So it’s been hard, but this has been good, we’ve had numerous chats and I’m sure we’ll hang out plenty more, we’re in the same hotel.”
CA’s ban does not extend to domestic tournaments outside Australia, which allowed Smith and Warner to play in Canada.
