LONDON, (Reuters) – Australia batsman David Warner has been suspended until the first Ashes test and fined 11,500 Australian dollars ($10,900) after reports of a late night bar-room fracas with young England player Joe Root.
Cricket Australia said in a statement after a hearing on Thursday that Warner will miss the rest of the Champions Trophy and Australia’s two tour matches against Somerset and Worcestershire before the Ashes.
The batsman, who was fined A$5,750 last month for a Twitter outburst against two journalists, will however be available for the first test against England starting on July 10.
“Warner pleaded guilty to breaching Rule 6: Unbecoming Behaviour,” the statement said.
The rule states that “players and officials must not at any time engage in behaviour unbecoming to a representative player or official that could (a) bring them or the game of game into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket.”
The flamboyant left-hander, who was primed to open the batting for Australia in the Ashes, was involved in the incident in the early hours of Sunday morning in Birmingham after Australia’s Champions Trophy defeat by England.
British media have reported that the “unprovoked physical attack”, in the words of the ECB, took place in the early hours on Sunday and was triggered by Root wearing a green and gold fancy dress wig as a beard.
Warner allegedly attempted to grab the beard and then swung a punch before other players intervened. ($1 = 1.0520 Australian dollars)
