Chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association Todd Greenberg has thrown his support behind David Warner, saying he had no alternative but to withdraw his attempts to overturn his leadership ban.
Greenberg, who was hired by the ACA after the events of the 2018 ball tampering saga, claimed Cricket Australia had a chance to conduct the review at the beginning of 2022.
He believes denying Warner the opportunity to be a leader in Australian cricket is a “significantly missed opportunity”.
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“It was probably the only decision he could make, particularly as he is preparing for a Test match,” Greenberg said on SEN Cricket.
“The ACA raised this much earlier in the year, back in February, in the hope that it could be addressed in the off-season.
“But for David to be forced into a position on the eve of a Test match, I don’t think it serves him well, his family well, it certainly doesn’t serve the team well.
“It is a significantly missed opportunity for cricket and particularly for the BBL.”
According to Greenberg, Cricket Australia handed the review process to an independent body — and that was exactly when they “lost control”.
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“The moment Cricket Australia outsourced the review, in my view, they lost control of the process and I appreciate there are complexities with codes of conduct,” Greenberg said.
“I understand there is a level of detail, but it is fact that once it was outsourced, the process was lost.”
“It’d be a fair understatement for me to say that we aren’t unbelievably frustrated, not just for David, for his teammates who I know are really annoyed around this process that was allowed to drag into the middle of the Test summer.
“Our request was pretty simple, it was simply to have a look at Dave’s suspension and ask for it to be reviewed in consideration of the manner he has served Cricket Australia over the last four years.
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“What we got instead was a very convoluted event that somehow landed on a media event that wanted to rake over ground that David had already paid a heavy price for.
“It was a significant departure from the way in which the application we thought should have been dealt with over the Code of Conduct.”
In Warner’s initial statement he referenced a change in the Cricket Australia Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel which allowed applications to be put forward to modify long-term sanctions.
Warner expected that those changes would allow his review to be conducted behind closed doors, but instead he wrote: “I am not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry”.
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“The second point I’d make is that the Code of Conduct amendments that were introduced by Cricket Australia were that the review would be conducted privately, unless there was a very good reason for it not to be,” Greenberg said.
“Why the panel decided the issue needed it to be a public hearing… is beyond me and lacks a real level of common sense.”
Greenberg also said that Warner’s attempts to revoke his leadership ban were “never about him”.
The former NRL boss believes Warner’s experiences across all facets of cricket should allow him to mentor the younger generation in a leadership capacity.
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“This has never been about him, and I want to make that point really clearly today, it wasn’t about him, it was about using his experiences in the game to help and shape others,” Greenberg said.
“The reality is, David is in the twilight of what has been an illustrious career, people can learn significantly from his experiences.
“In the ACA’s view, continuing the leadership ban does Australian cricket to benefit from using his experience.
“I think while David’s name is front and centre, the basis of this whole concept of leadership is about his ability to give back to Australian cricket.
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“He’s got lessons that have been the making of him as a person, that could have been such a contribution to the game, that’s where I am frustrated.
“There are very few people in Australian cricket who understand the consequences of their own actions than David.”
Veteran broadcaster Gerard Whateley also asked if he believed a public hearing surrounding the events which occurred in the Newlands Test would be of benefit to the team.
Greenberg was steadfast that there would be “zero impact and positivity to come out of anything like that” and also said Warner is unlikely to ever attempt to overturn his ban.
“Look I don’t think anyone, let alone David and his family have an appetite to drag this on further than it is, I think we can put a full stop on this one,” Greenberg said.
