Describing David Warner as “generous and giving”, Australia’s stand-in captain George Bailey downplayed the opener’s bar-room brawl with England batsman Joe Root, calling it a “minor” incident but
“disappointing” nonetheless.
After the ICC Champions Trophy Group A match between Australia and New Zealand was abandoned due to rain, the post-match media conference centred around Warner.
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“It’s been dealt with from my point of view. It’s disappointing, but a very minor incident and it’s been dealt with in-house and that’s it”, Bailey said.
“I thought he took it on the chin, and he’s had a cheer around the group, so it was outstanding. No pun intended. Sorry about that”, he added.
Defending champions Australia are in a tight spot after a loss in the opening game against England. Adding to their woes, skipper Michael Clarke is battling a back injury while Warner faces stricter action after being stood down from Wednesday’s game due to the brawl.
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The explosive Australian opener is being investigated over claims of an unprovoked attack on Root after Saturday’s defeat against the hosts.
Bailey said that despite the storm over Warner, the Aussie dressing room has been calm.
“Very comfortable. Very easy. The situation for us, believe it or not, was bigger than this — it was about making sure we won this game to stay in the tournament and play some better cricket than we had against England. And with this sort of a result I am still not sure if we have done that”, he said.