One of Australia’s most celebrated cricketers is facing an uncertain future on the field following allegations of exceeding the legal alcohol limit during a breath test.
David Warner was reportedly found to have consumed alcohol beyond legal limits after being pulled over for a roadside check in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Easter Sunday, according to police reports.
The 39-year-old was said to have stopped his vehicle short of the testing area, where officers then administered a breathalyzer test.
The former Test opener for Australia, who currently leads the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League, allegedly registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.104 at the Maroubra Police Station. He has been charged with mid-range drink driving.
If convicted, Warner could face a fine of $2,200 and a possible prison sentence of up to nine months.
Warner has not yet submitted a plea, with his case scheduled for an initial hearing today at Waverley Local Court.
The charges have cast doubt on his Thunder captaincy.
Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon told reporters after the arrest Warner’s captaincy “will be worked through and remains to be seen”.
“The allegations are of course concerning and we take them very seriously”, Germon said.
“At Cricket NSW, we are strong advocates for safe driving, not drink-driving.”
Warner’s arrest came while on an Easter trip home from the subcontinent, where he captained the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.
He returned to Pakistan after his charging to resume the T20 tournament, where he averaged an impressive 51.2 with the bat.
That included belting 89 not out off 48 balls in the Kings’ last fixture against the Quetta Gladiators.
The charge came after Warner posted a record-breaking Big Bash League season, averaging 86.6 and being named team of the tournament captain.
Warner was a swashbuckling opening batsman and aggressive run-scorer until his retirement from Test cricket in 2024.
He has since appeared on the Fox Cricket commentary team.
He scored 8786 runs at an average of more than 44 across his 112 tests, with a career high score of 335 not out against Pakistan.
But Warner created headlines for the wrong reasons when he 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.
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