Former Australia captain Ian Chappell says he "couldn't be happier that David Warner told Cricket Australia the equivalent of 'go and get stuffed'" after the veteran opener decided to withdraw his bid to have his lifetime leadership ban overturned.
Warner was hit with the harshest punishment of all involved in the notorious 2018 ball-tampering scandal, being banned from playing domestic and international cricket for a year as well as being banned from ever holding a leadership role again.
The 36-year-old was hopeful he could get the ban revoked after Cricket Australia (CA) altered their code of conduct to allow him the chance to appeal it. However, he later withdrew his application for an appeal, stating he was "not prepared for my family to be the washing machine for cricket’s dirty laundry."
And Chappell has backed Warner's decision, writing in a column for ESPNcricinfo : "I couldn't be happier that David Warner told Cricket Australia the equivalent of 'go and get stuffed' when he went public about his decision to withdraw his request for a review of his captaincy ban.
"This indicated Warner - who had been advised by CA against a public outburst - didn't trust the authorities to be mindful of his interests. It was a wise decision by Warner as CA is renowned for only protecting their own interests, not those of players.
"Young players should be thankful Warner has exposed CA's tendencies for back-side protecting. They need to keep it in mind for the future. Most importantly, though, Warner's withdrawal of his review highlights how appalling the original decision to award him a lifetime leadership ban was."
Then skipper Steve Smith, who was banned from holding a leadership role for one year after serving the same ban from playing that Warner did, has since captained Australia twice. Smith recently blasted Warner's ban as "fundamentally wrong" and Chappell feels that his "crime was greater than Warner's" given he was captain at the time.
"Warner and Steve Smith should have received the same leadership punishment after the Cape Town incident," Chappell added. "As a captain it was Smith's job to know what his players were up to.
"If their motive was illegal, he needed to put a quick stop to any shenanigans. Smith's crime was greater than Warner's."
