(Reuters) – Troubled opener David Warner has risked his place in Australia’s Ashes team after his late night bar-room fracas with England player Joe Root, captain Michael Clarke said yesterday.
Cricket Australia (CA) suspended Warner until the first Ashes test and fined him 11,500 Australian dollars ($10,900) for the altercation in Birmingham after Australia’s Champions Trophy defeat to England on June 8.
In a column for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, Clarke called the incident “an unwelcome distraction” for a team attempting to defend their Champions Trophy title and regain the Ashes from England in the next four months.
“I have made it clear to David that his behaviour is not acceptable for an Australian cricketer,” Clarke, who missed the team’s first two matches with a back injury, wrote in the column.
“He has let the team down and all of those at home who love and support Australian cricket. David has been punished and must now suffer the consequences.
