Australia ball-tampering scandal: TV channel digs out 2015 ad showing David Warner talking about ‘taping the ball’ as a kid

Even as David Warner attempts to make a comeback to cricket after the ignominy of Sandpapergate — which saw him being slapped with a one-year ban by Cricket Australia — Australian media seems keen to bring up instances linking the disgraced Australian cricketer to past instances of ball-tampering. On Wednesday night, a TV show called Gruen on Australia’s ABC pulled out an old advertisement of Warner from 2015 where he can be seen talking about “taping the ball” as a child. In the ad, called ‘Dave Warner’s HCG — Home Cricket Ground’, he can be seen discussing his childhood days. “We had a couple of guys that used to come ’round all the time and we used to try and replicate what was going on out in the middle in the HCG,” Warner says in the video. “If you were over the fence you were out. Or you got six runs for your total… we had a concrete backyard, so there wasn’t much movement off the wicket. “So I had to try and work something out and that was by taping half the ball, and trying to get the ball up there and swinging it.” Hosts on Gruen used the video to take digs at Warner, who has been branded as the villain of the entire ball-tampering saga.

We reckon KFC might give this 2015 ad a lifetime ban. Which is a shame, because it proves there is finally a bit of truth in advertising. #Gruen pic.twitter.com/9cBxoWvuiP

— The Gruen Team (@GruenHQ) May 16, 2018

On Wednesday, it became apparent that Warner was to play club cricket with Sydney’s Randwick Petersham. “We’re delighted to have him (Warner). He’s one of the best players Australia has had since World War II,” Randwick Petersham club president Mike Whitney was quoted as saying by agencies on Wednesday. Whitney, a former Test fast bowler, added that Warner will play in at least three of the first four matches of the season. Warner has also been linked with playing in the Northern Territory’s limited-overs Strike League. While Warner has been on the books at Randwick Petersham since the 2013-14 season, he has seldom played for the team due to state, international and Indian Premier League commitments. Besides Warner, then Australia captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft also were slapped with bans by CA for their role in the ball-tampering scandal. While Smith got a 12-month ban , Bancroft was handed a nine-month ban. Smith and Warner’s IPL franchises Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad also revoked their contracts . Coach Darren Lehmann also stepped down from his role in the wake of the scandal, but has been handed a new role by CA — to mentor upcoming cricketers under Australia’s National Performance Program (NPS).