LONDON: James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s boss, did not mince words when asked about David Warner.
“He is making some pretty ordinary decisions and getting himself into trouble, and he is bringing the game, his teammates and the team down. That is not going to be tolerated any longer,” Sutherland said.
Those words were not spoken after the ball-tampering episode in Cape Town. They were said after Warner threw a punch at Joe Root in Birmingham almost five years ago. But if the expectation was that Cricket Australia would rein in Warner, we were badly mistaken.
“You try to get into a battle as quick as you can,” said Warner in the build-up to last year’s Ashes. “I try to look in the opposition’s eye and work out how can I dislike this player, how can I get on top of him? You have to find that spark in yourself to really take it to the opposition. You have to delve and dig deep into yourself to get some sort of hatred about them.”
He retracted those words later, but the national board chose the nudge-nudge-wink-wink approach to the toxic sentiments expressed by the vice-captain. And as Australia romped through the Ashes 4-0, there was absolutely no rebuke for the Warner brand of bullying on the field.
Now, Warner is the one most expendable, the one Cricket Australia have hung out to dry as the main conspirator in what has come to be called SandpaperGate. Steve Smith can look forward to Redemption Road. For Warner, there is nothing. The announcement that he would never be considered for captaincy again was especially telling.
The silences and deflected answers in the Warner press conference were even more revealing, especially when he was asked if others were involved in the plot and if it was the first time Australia had done such a thing on the field.
If those advising Warner, legally and otherwise, decide that he has no international future — and the tune Cricket Australia has been humming suggests as much — they could well ask him to come clean in an exclusive media appearance. If he did, what he had to say could cause huge embarrassment to his former teammates and board officials.
Sutherland has banged on about the “spirit of cricket” in recent days. Those words were dropped from Cricket Australia’s strategic plan in 2017. As Gideon Haigh wrote in The Australian: “At times over the years, CA has given the appearance of caring little about the sport’s image, except as a brand or product. One was reminded this last week of the conference five years ago where CA’s commercial chief, Ben Amarfio, argued that controversy in sport was not a problem — it could even be advantageous.”
Now Warner, who in addition to his “ball maintenance” duties was also the team’s attack dog, is the one they are trying to put down.
“I know there are unanswered questions,” tweeted Warner after his tear-filled media conference. “In time, I will do my best to answer them all.”
For half a decade, Warner set the tone for Australia with both his bat and caustic tongue. He is unlikely to go quietly now.
Finally, Cricket Australia calls time on ‘attack dog’ David Warner’s brand of bullying
Finally, Cricket Australia calls time on ‘attack dog’ David Warner’s brand of bullying
Own goal enough for Al-Ahli as Matchday 24 win keeps pressure on Al-Nassr
- Al-Ahli eke out 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh to keep pressure on Al-Nassr
- Milan Borjan own goal separated the sides at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
RIYADH: Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League kicked off on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the delayed Matchday 10. With the FIFA Arab Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and FIFA World Cup sandwiching the 2025/26 campaign, resting periods have been few and far between outside the international breaks.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Al-Ahli opted to rest Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot for their clash with Al-Riyadh in the capital. Ramadan has further challenged the league schedule, with Matthias Jaissle’s side only arriving in Riyadh at 5:30pm — just hours before kick-off.
With their previous outing against Damac still dominating conversation, Jaissle was keen to ensure his players did not fall into the same trap — namely, being caught off guard by an opponent’s unexpectedly proactive style.
To his relief, Al-Ahli were largely in control this time. Yet the absence of Mahrez limited their creative spark. Relying heavily on Wenderson Galeno down the left, Al-Riyadh did well to crowd the Brazilian and deny him space to operate.
The bane of any expansive side is a compact 5-4-1, and that is precisely how Al-Riyadh’s recently appointed Brazilian manager Mauricio Dulac set his team up. A long-time assistant to former Al-Riyadh coach Odair Hellmann, this marks Dulac’s first managerial role.
Al-Ahli’s attacking routes were severely restricted throughout the first half. Al-Riyadh denied them the opportunity to press high, Mahrez’s trademark diagonals were absent, and finding Ivan Toney in the six-yard box proved a difficult task.
On the rare occasions the visitors broke the defensive line, Milan Borjan stood firm in goal — there was no getting past the Canadian.
That was until first-half stoppage time. Al-Ahli had one more weapon in their arsenal: set-pieces. A lofted delivery from Galeno’s free-kick met the head of Roger Ibañez, who nodded the ball towards goal. Borjan pushed it away, but it was too late — the ball crossed the line.
VAR intervened within seconds. Ibañez was a shoulder offside, and the opener was chalked off. It was a notable twist, particulary as the simultaneous fixture between Al-Fateh and Damac in Al-Ahsa featured a celebration aimed squarely at Al-Ahli and VAR.
Earlier in the week, Damac equalised late against Al-Ahli via Yakou Méïté, only for the goal to be overturned. Méïté reacted angrily and lashed out at referees, but Al-Ahli escaped with the three points. Méïté followed up with a goal against Al-Fateh, and celebrated by mimicking the referee’s VAR signal.
Back in Riyadh, Al-Ahli returned for the second half with renewed intensity. Zakaria Hawsawi grew more adventurous from left-back, threading lofted balls over the Al-Riyadh defence.
In the 53rd minute, he found Toney behind the last defender, but the Englishman’s volley was adeptly saved by Borjan. Five minutes later, Galeno latched onto Hawsawi’s cross and thought he had broken the deadlock — only for the linesman’s flag to rise once again.
Al-Ahli pushed, but as time ticked away, it seemed the coveted winner would elude them. However, once again, set pieces proved decisive.
In the 75th minute, a corner from Saleh Abu Al-Shamat was parried by Borjan, only for his effort to be bundled into his own net, sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy.
After last week’s scare, Al-Ahli knew they had to finish the job. Cue Ibañez, who surged forward from deep before slipping the ball through to Toney to seal the game with what would have been his 24th goal of the season. The run itself deserved a goal, but Toney was flagged inches offside.
Despite another difficult outing, Al-Ahli did enough to secure a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 victory to move top on 59 points — one ahead of Al-Nassr, who are yet to play this weekend.
Elsewhere, Méïté’s equaliser was later cancelled out by a 77th-minute Mourad Batna penalty, in a match that saw fans commemorate him for surpassing 100 goal contributions with Al-Fateh.
Batna had earlier missed from the spot to the frustation of the home fans, but Al-Fateh’s undefeated streak against Damac at home remains intact as the encounter ended 1-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hazem hosting Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad welcoming Al-Khaleej, and one of Riyadh’s top derbies in Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal. All games kick-off at 10:00pm, in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
