CA’s tendency to protect backsides gets exposed

I couldnrsquot be happier that David Warner told Cricket Australia CA the equivalent of lsquogo and get stuffedrsquo when he went public about his decision to withdraw an attempt to review his captaincy banThis indicated Warner who had been advised by CA against a public outburst didnrsquot trust the authorities to be mindful of his interests This was a wise decision by Warner as CA is renowned for only protecting their own interests and never those of a playerToo old to be a captainI doubt Warner was expecting to gain an Australian leadership position even with a successful review of the ban he received after the South African debacle in 2018 Hersquos too old to be considered for a captaincy position in the Australian regime despite the fact that he has always had great leadership instinctsHowever I think Warner had hoped he may be able to lead his BBL team Sydney Thunder at some point A pity because he would have been the ideal person to guide younger players on their cricketing path Not to worry CA because hersquoll still be a leader and listened to by any cricketer who wants to get aheadYoung players should be thankful Warner has exposed CArsquos tendencies for backside protecting They need to keep it in mind the future Most importantly though Warnerrsquos withdrawal of his review highlights the appalling original decision to award him a lifetime ban on leadershipWarner and Steve Smith should have received the same leadership punishment after the South African debacle Cheating is indefensible but so also is the Australian captain Smith saying lsquoI donrsquot want to knowrsquo when he walked past Warner and Cameron Bancroft who were deep in discussion in the dressing room As a captain it is Smithrsquos job to know what his players are up to If their motive is illegal then he needs to put a very quick stop to any shenanigansSmithrsquos crime was greater than Warnerrsquos So it was no wonder Warner was incensed by his stiff original punishment while others were treated far more leniently No wonder also that Warnerrsquos manager James Erskine incensed at CArsquos recent behaviour said ldquoYoursquod have to be a blind black Labrador to not realise there was far more than three people involved in this thingrdquoIn the lead up to the South African fiasco and in the followup CA has erred regularly because they have selfprotection as a high priority The lopsided punishments the botched integrity review in South Africa and then the absurd decision to not allow an appeal by the Australian players their list of failures goes on No wonder Warner had a gut full but he chose the right target to attack The fact that he was subjected to stronger punishment than anyone else over the sandpaper affair smacked of a resentment being repaidIn protection modeThe current CA board wash their hands of the matter by saying they werenrsquot involved Sure they werenrsquot on the Board at the time but theyrsquove since done nothing to dispel the idea that they are still in protection modeWhether Warner was disliked by an administrator or it was because he was prepared to speak out during the feisty MOU wrangle is unknown and likely to remain that way Whatrsquos known is Warner wonrsquot be bullied Hersquoll have his say and if he does reveal all later in a book itrsquoll be worth reading It may take some work to get his book published because therersquoll be a lot of red faces around if it does reach the public