Hearing set for Warner over Twitter rant

Australia opening batsman David Warner will face a disciplinary hearing this week into an alleged code of conduct breach after a Twitter rant directed at two of the country’s leading cricket writers. Cricket Australia said Monday the hearing would take place on Wednesday via teleconference from India, where Warner is playing in the Indian Premier League.

“Warner is alleged to have breached Rule 6: Unbecoming Behaviour, regarding comments posted on his Twitter account,” CA said in a statement. CA began investigating Saturday after a fiery exchange on Warner’s Twitter account, @davidwarner31, against News Limited’s Robert Craddock, who had written an article critical of the Indian Premier League.

The explosive opener plays for the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, which was rocked last week by accusations of spot fixing against three Rajasthan Royals players, including Indian Test paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth.

After posting a tweet with expletives aimed at Craddock, urging him to “get a real job”, the cricketer then took issue with Craddock’s colleague Malcolm Conn in abusive tweets sparking a back-and-forth exchange.

Rule 6 states that “players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of cricket into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket”.

Conn said he had no hard feelings and hoped the disciplinary hearing would do no more than remind Warner of his public responsibilities to use more appropriate language.

“He texted me on Saturday night to say he did not mean to be personal and that he was annoyed a photo of him was used to illustrate a background story on the sleazy nightlife of the IPL by colleague Robert Craddock,” Conn wrote in Monday’s Daily Telegraph.

“I replied there were no hard feelings, I was a great believer in free speech and he was entitled to his opinion.” Warner averaged 24.38 on Australia’s recent troubled tour to India where they lost the series 4-0.

The recall of opening batsman Chris Rogers for the July-August Ashes series in England has placed Warner’s spot in the team under scrutiny.

AFP