Pat Cummins urges 'absolute support' of the Australian team after David Warner withdraws his application to lift captaincy ban
Australia skipper Pat Cummins has promised David Warner 'absolute support' of the team as the debate over his captaincy ban shows no signs of abating.
Speaking during the opening day of the second Test against the West Indies in Adelaide, Cummins vouched that players remained fully behind Warner.
The Aussie bowling all-rounder told Adam Gilchrist on Fox Sports:
"I haven't heard the comments [from Warner's agent] today, but I have chatted with David and he's great. We really support David and he's a huge member of our side and he's been fantastic with me throughout my whole career."
Cummins, who is missing the West Indies Test series due to injury, added:
"In this side he's been an awesome leader, especially in the last few years. He has our absolute support and we really back him and respect his decision."
David Warner's manager makes shocking revelations about 'Sandpaper gate'
The saga took a fresh turn earlier on Thursday when Warner's manager James Erskine accused cricket officials of giving players permission to tamper with the ball.
David Warner's decision to withdraw the application to overturn his lifetime leadership ban has made headlines over the last 24 hours. The dynamic left-handed batter was evidently hurt by the way Cricket Australia (CA) has meted out treatment and gave a series of statements on Wednesday, justifying his decision for the same.
Four years ago, Cricket Australia banned the former Test vice-captain from any leadership for his part in the Cape Town ball-tampering fiasco.
CONFIRMED: Cricket Australia has suspended Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months following the ball tampering investigation.
Cameron Bancroft has been suspended for nine months.
CA passed an amendment to its code of conduct last month that was expected to allow Warner to request a review of the sanction. Notably, the independent panel of code-of-conduct commissioners on Wednesday revealed they were holding firm on the matter.
David Warner subsequently withdrew his appeal against his lifetime captaincy ban, with an explosive statement on social media in which he accused the Review Panel of seeking a 'public lynching'.