David Warner Roles Up His Sleeves For Commentary Duties During England-Australia ODI Series

Tainted former Australian vice-captain David Warner will commentate during the upcoming Australia-England ODI series scheduled to commence from June 13. Warner, who was banned for 12 months for his role in the ball-tampering incident by Cricket Australia, will commentate for Channel Nine. "Dave is the best one-day and T20 batsman of the past decade so he's perfectly placed to join our coverage for the UK series," Nine's director of sport Tom Malone was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "People have tried to paint Dave as the villain in all this, but he's been hurting as much as the others," he added.

Warner and Steve Smith were slapped with bans of one year each after they admitted to the ball-tampering fiasco in South Africa, earlier this year. Along with the former captain and his deputy, 25-year-old Cameron Bancroft was also handed a 9-month ban for his involvement in the infamous episode. Darren Lehmann too stepped down from the position of head coach after the scandal that rocked Australian cricket.

The five-match ODI series will be the first under the leadership of Tim Paine and newly-appointed coach Justin Langer.

Warner, who will be behind the microphone for the first time, will join the commentary panel for the second game of the five-match series in Cardiff on June 16.

After commentating in the UK, the dashing southpaw will join his banned team-mate Smith at the inaugural season of the Global T20 Canada tournament, starting June 28. Warner will represent Winnipeg Hawks in the league while Smith will play for Toronto Nationals in the tournament.

(With IANS inputs)

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