Cummins, Warner likely to be rested for West Indies tour

Australia are scheduled to travel to the West Indies for a five-match T20I series and three ODIs in July 2021. Ahead of the marquee tour, it is speculated that Cricket Australia could rest Australia’s veteran opener David Warner and speedster Pat Cummins. It is learned that the two players may be excluded from the Australia tour of the West Indies for family reasons.

As of now, both Cummins and Warner are part of a 23-member squad that are set to travel to the Caribbean. However, CA is in discussions about giving both players some time off to spend time with their family. This development might have occurred after David Warner’s manager James Erskine gave a controversial statement on the ball-tampering scandal saying that the truth will come out.

As per a report published by Sydney Morning Herald, James said that after his retirement, Warner will write a book about the ball-tampering scandal in which he will reveal the details of the entire incident. Notably, the ball-tampering scandal rocked Australian cricket in 2018. Captain Steve Smith, Warner, and bowler Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of tampering the ball during a Test match against South Africa in 2018.

Three years after the entire incident, the scandal re-surfaced after Bancroft hinted that the bowlers were aware of the entire episode. The allegations by the Australian pacer have placed Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon under the radar.

Australian bowlers release a joint official official statement

On May 18, all the four bowlers broke their silence on the issue as they released an official statement stating that they were innocent and didn’t know anything about the scandal. Also, the bowlers requested to put an end to the whole scandal.

“We pride ourselves on our honesty. So it’s been disappointing to see that our integrity has been questioned by some journalists and past players in recent days in regard to the Cape Town Test of 2018,” the statement read.

“We’ve all learned valuable lessons and we’d like to think the public can see a change for the better in terms of the way we play, the way we behave, and respect the game. Our commitment to improving as people and players will continue. We respectfully request an end to the rumor-mongering and innuendo,” it added.