Warner to miss ICC Champions Trophy, suspended till first Ashes Test

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: After being involved in an "unprovoked" physical altercation with England player Joe Root, Australian opener David Warner has been suspended from the rest of the Champions Trophy until the first Ashes Test. The 26-year-old was also fined £7,000 (AU $11,500) after the incident. Warner will also miss tour matches against Somerset and Worcestershire, but can appear in the first Ashes Test scheduled to be played on 10 July. Warner has been reported for breaching Rule 6 relating to "unbecoming behaviour" after he was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with an England player in the early hours of Sunday morning following the Champions Trophy match between the teams in Birmingham. "Rule 6 states: Without limiting any other rule, 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 into disrepute or (b) be harmful to the interests of cricket." The incident reportedly took place in a Birmingham bar and involved alcohol after Australia lost by 48 runs to England in their tournament-opener. The England and Wales Cricket Board also came out with a statement on the incident but it did not name Root as the other player. The ECB, however, insisted that Warner`s attack was unprovoked. "Following a statement issued this morning by Cricket Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board confirms that David Warner initiated an unprovoked physical attack on a member of the England team in a Birmingham bar following England`s 48 run victory over Australia," the ECB said. "Warner has admitted behaving inappropriately and has since apologised to the player involved who has accepted the apology. 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," it added. "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," CA said. CA will convene the Code of Behaviour hearing as soon as possible. Details will be provided once the time and date is confirmed. "CA will not be making any further comment until after the hearing," it said. Warner, who played for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, most recently hit the headlines after being fined 5,750 Australian dollars last month for breaching CA`s code of behaviour following his Twitter rant against a couple of journalists. He subsequently apologised for it but insisted that he did that to defend himself. Warner has been struggling for runs since arriving in England, having made ducks in both the Champions Trophy warm-up games and 9 in the loss to England. With PTI inputs