Test cricket star pleads guilty to Easter drink-drive

By Tom Wark

David Warner’s captaincy of the Sydney Thunder could be in doubt after the star opener pleaded guilty to drink-driving.

The high-profile cricketer was not required to appear in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday, but his lawyer Bobby Hill said the batsman was admitting to the charge of mid-range drink driving on Easter Sunday.

“The parties are in discussion about the facts,” Mr Hill said.

Warner returned a positive result for alcohol after he stopped short of a roadside test in Sydney’s east on April 5

When taken to Maroubra Police Station for a secondary test, the 39-year-old blew 0.104 – more than double the legal blood alcohol limit.

Mr Hill previously foreshadowed a guilty plea when the matter was first mentioned in May.

“He knows what he did was wrong,” he said at the time.

“He accepts that was a reckless decision, a foolish decision to get in his car instead of taking an Uber.”

The Fox Cricket commentator had enjoyed three glasses of wine at a friend’s apartment before making that decision, Mr Hill said.

“It’s not a crime to have a glass of wine on the day of the Lord’s resurrection. In fact, some would consider that completely appropriate,” he told reporters.

“His crime is, as I said, choosing a foolish plan A instead of a plan B.”

Mr Hill said Warner’s last drink had been 11 minutes before he was pulled over by police.

The cricket star was remorseful and would ask for leniency, but he expected to be punished as any other citizen would be, the lawyer said.

Warner’s sentence was set down for August 18.

Warner’s admission of guilt has cast doubt over his status as captain of the Thunder, who were contacted for comment after the plea was entered.

“The allegations are of course concerning and we take them very seriously”, Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon said after his arrest.

“At Cricket NSW, we are strong advocates for safe driving, not drink-driving.”

The Thunder, along with the Sydney Sixers and NSW Blues, are part of a state government campaign to deter drink-driving.

Warner was arrested while he was on an Easter trip home from the subcontinent, where he captained the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

No stranger to the headlines, Warner was one of three Australian players suspended after a 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa that shook the cricketing world.

A Cricket Australia investigation found Warner, who was vice-captain at the time, masterminded a plan to alter the condition of the match ball with sandpaper and enlisted rookie batsman Cameron Bancroft to carry it out.

Warner was banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months and made permanently ineligible for team leadership positions.

In 2013, Warner was also involved in a high-profile bust-up in Birmingham during which he punched future England captain Joe Root.