Australia vs South Africa: Why ‘sledge David Warner’ talk will only make the Australia-South Africa series more intense

Back then, the Newlands ball-tampering scandal dominated headlines. Not only did it cost then-head coach Darren Lehmann and then-skipper Steve Smith their jobs, but it also led to concerted efforts from Cricket Australia to change the culture surrounding the game. 

There’s an argument to be made that this culture change has, by and large, been successful, although there is also a legitimate question to be asked as to how much has changed, given the players involved – especially the higher profile ones – are still part of the squad. 

And while Smith has primarily been absolved by the cricketing world, even captaining Australia in their final Test of the series against West Indies, Warner remains a lightning rod for criticism. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Is it starting to go sideways for David Warner in Tests? His last two years have not been the best <a href="https://t.co/wHzTYGZnDQ">pic.twitter.com/wHzTYGZnDQ</a></p>&mdash; ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1604015739513745409?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke believes South Africa should target Warner for this reason. 

“Their approach to any player that was involved in that ‘Sandpapergate’, they’ve got it mate. It doesn’t need to cross the line, but you can make it very clear to someone like David Warner that the Australian fans are off him,” Clarke told The Big Sports Breakfast on Sky Sports Radio. 

Given that Warner’s wife Candice recently revealed that she and her daughters were targeted with vile abuse by Australian fans while attending a game and that she doesn’t feel safe attending games anymore, that does seem like something that would cut a little close to the bone. 

But worry not because Clarke believes such sledging will bring out Warner’s best form – and also urged him to ‘give it back’ to the Proteas. 

“I want to see Davey Warner, if they have a crack at him on the field while he’s batting, go back to being that bulldog and give it back to them.” 

And while there is some truth to Clarke’s words, does this series need any added tensions? Already there have been enough signs that the matches will be hotly contested. 

The South Africans have baited the Australians by begging them to sledge, and they are waiting for a reason to bite back. 

And hearing such advice from a former Aussie captain will only encourage them to go for it more than they plan to. 

There’s nothing wrong with aggression and a heated rivalry – it makes for compelling watching for the fans and can make even an ordinary match seem like a high-stakes one. 

But given the bad blood between these two sides – remember, the 2018 series was the same one where Kagiso Rabada shoulder barged Smith and almost had to serve a one-match ban before getting it rescinded – the effort should be to make sure the aggression is solely around cricketing matters. 

However, that seems unlikely to be the case – so if you’re looking forward to this series, be sure to be ready for a lot of verbal barraging, perhaps even from Australia too.