Cricket Australia lifts David Warner's leadership ban so he can lead Sydney Thunder in BBL

Cricket Australia has scrapped David Warner’s lifetime leadership ban in a move that has been hailed for its potential in changing the former Test opener’s sporting legacy.

An independent three-member review panel unanimously ruled to overturn the ban handed down to Warner for his leading role in the Newlands ball-tampering saga after the 37-year-old lodged an appeal with CA.

The panel determined Warner was contrite over the 2018 “Sandpapergate” ordeal, with the 112-time Test star telling last Thursday’s hearing he had “let every single person down” in Cape Town.

Australian captain Pat Cummins, coach Andrew McDonald, cricket great Greg Chappell and former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson were among those to submit written character references to the hearing.

In its 21 pages of findings, the panel confirmed it had given weight to Warner’s passion for fostering interest in the sport amongst diverse communities, and his track record mentoring the next generation of cricketers.

The decision, confirmed on Friday, scraps the final sanction that lingered from the saga and opens the door for Warner to take on a former leadership role with the Sydney Thunder this summer.

Thunder general manager Trent Copeland, who gave evidence at the hearing, acknowledged some may never be able to separate Warner from his role in the incident that rocked Australian cricket.

But he was hopeful that by successfully appealing the sanction, Warner had given himself the chance to change his legacy.

“That was a large part of the motivation for Dave, and in particular his family,” Copeland said.

“If that’s a lifelong ban, it’s still over him when he’s 50, 60. It just would never go away. It may not ever go away, but I think at least this gives it a shot.

“What type of player was he? Really, he changed the game, the way he played in Test cricket, when he first started, debuting for Australia and smacking (South African Test legend) Dale Steyn around before he’d even played a first-class game for NSW, that’s what we want to remember about David Warner. Not the other stuff.”

The Thunder have not yet name their captain for the upcoming summer, when Warner will play the entire BBL for the first time in his storied T20 career.

But Copeland “absolutely” felt Warner a suitable candidate for the role.

“There’s a process we’ll go through but we couldn’t get to the point where we could make that decision before all of this has been done,” Copeland said.

“Ollie Davies, Sam Konstas, Blake Nikitaras, those are the guys that I want to be immersed with David Warner in the middle in a leadership capacity, whether he’s got a C next to his name or not.

“Everyone who knows Davey and has watched him over the years has seen him be a great captain and leader, particularly with the bat in hand.”

Warner had considered lodging an appeal to have his ban overturned in late 2022 after CA changed its code of conduct to allow players to challenge long-term sanctions.

But he ultimately opted not to persist with the appeal, worried revisiting the incidents of the 2018 ball-tampering saga would open up old wounds.

Copeland described the handling of the last attempt as a “trainwreck”, with Warner taking to social media at the time to reveal his frustrations over the public process.

“This time around was really methodical, well-planned. This is really the first anyone’s heard of it, this week. It needed to be that way so the legal and independent process could actually happen,” Copeland said.