Cricket: David Warner stood down from ICC Champions Trophy match against New Zealand

 

                                        Photo: Off-field incident ... David Warner (Getty Images:Brendon                                                                 Thorne, File Photo)

Map: England

Australia opener David Warner has been stood down from tonight's ICC Champions Trophy match against New Zealand following a physical altercation with an England player last weekend.

The incident took place in a Birmingham pub Sunday morning and reportedly involved England batsman Joe Root following Australia's 48-run loss to the English in its opening Champions Trophy match at Edgbaston.
No decision has been made on whether Warner will be sent home from England but he has been reported for breaching Cricket Australia's (CA) code of behaviour and will face a disciplinary hearing.
"Team management have stood down Warner pending the outcome of the hearing, meaning he will miss Australia's match against New Zealand in Birmingham tonight," a CA statement said.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has not confirmed which of its players was involved in the incident.
But it released a statement saying "Warner initiated an unprovoked physical attack on a member of the England team in a Birmingham bar".
"Warner has admitted behaving inappropriately and has since apologised to the player involved who has accepted the apology," the statement said.
"Following a full investigation the England team management has concluded that the England player was in no way responsible for nor retaliated to the attack.
"ECB has concluded that this is a matter for Cricket Australia and have no further comment to make."

Twitter fine

Warner has been no stranger to controversy recently, having been fined $5,750 last month for breaching CA's code of behaviour following comments he made on Twitter.
He launched into News Limited journalists Robert Craddock and Malcolm Conn on Twitter in response to an article published by Craddock, which was critical of the Indian Premier League.
Warner struggled against England, scoring only 9 from 21 balls before he was caught by Jos Buttler off the bowling of Stuart Broad.
He also failed to score in warm-up fixtures against India and West Indies.
Warner is also a member of Australia's squad for the Ashes, which starts with next month's first Test against England at Trent Bridge.
His place in Australia's XI to face the Black Caps was taken by Glen Maxwell, while spinner Xavier Doherty has replaced quick Mitchell Starc.
Australia needs a victory to retain a chance of reaching the semi-finals.