Online Reporter
AUSTRALIA cricket great David Warner yesterday pleaded guilty to drink driving and will be sentenced later this year, court documents showed.
Warner, who is one of Australia’s best-known sportsmen, was accused of being at the wheel of a van and stopping short of a random testing site, before being breath-tested, arrested and taken to a police station.
His lawyer appeared at a Sydney court to enter a guilty plea on one count of “middle range” drink-driving.
Former opening batsman Warner, who captains Sydney Thunder in the domestic T20 Big Bash League, did not appear in court.
“So many of us make those poor decisions. I think what’s important is accepting and being accountable for those poor decisions,” lawyer Bobby Hill told a hearing earlier this year.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a tradesman, a doctor or one of the best opening batsmen in the world, that danger exists for every one of us.”
Warner will be sentenced on August 18.
Meanwhile, Warner returned a positive result for alcohol after he stopped short of a roadside test in Sydney’s east on April 5.
When taken to Maroubra Police Station for a secondary test, the 39-year-old blew 0.104 – more than double the legal blood alcohol limit.
Hill previously foreshadowed a guilty plea when the matter was first mentioned in May.
“He knows what he did was wrong,” he said at the time. “He accepts that was a reckless decision, a foolish decision to get in his car instead of taking an Uber.”
Warner had enjoyed three glasses of wine at a friend’s apartment before making that decision, Hill said.
“It’s not a crime to have a glass of wine on the day of the Lord’s resurrection. In fact, some would consider that completely appropriate,” he told reporters. “His crime is, as I said, choosing a foolish plan A instead of a plan B.”
Hill said Warner’s last drink had been 11 minutes before he was pulled over by police.
Warner was remorseful and would ask for leniency, but he expected to be punished as any other citizen would be, the lawyer said. Warner’s sentence was set down for August 18.
His admission of guilt has cast doubt over his status as captain of Thunder, who were contacted for comment after the plea was entered.
“The allegations are of course concerning, and we take them very seriously”, Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon said after his arrest. “At Cricket NSW, we are strong advocates for safe driving, not drink-driving.”
Thunder, along with Sydney Sixers and NSW Blues, are part of a state government campaign to deter drink-driving.
Warner was arrested while he was on an Easter trip home from the subcontinent, where he captained Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.
Warner had been banned from holding leadership positions for life after his role in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa but that was overturned in 2024, and he was named Thunder captain shortly after – SuperSport/CricInfo.
