Warne: Smith and Warner will be in Australia World Cup side

2019 Cricket World Cup

Dave Tickner
March 14, 2019

Shane Warne says both Steve Smith and David Warner will play for Australia in the World Cup.

The disgraced duo will have served their bans for ball tampering by the time the competition gets under way in England but there were still doubts aired by former skipper Ricky Ponting over the pair’s participation. Both have been left out for the upcoming series against Pakistan, while Australia have just completed an historic 3-2 victory in India without Smith and Warner.

Warne, though, says he is in no doubt they will play, telling ESPN: “I don’t think Australia have missed a trick by not selecting Smith and Warner against Pakistan.

“They would only have been available for the final two games of the series so the squad is better off not being disrupted.

“They can now settle in to the Indian Premier League and focus on getting their form back.

“There’s three other one-day games after the Pakistan series so there’s plenty of time to play for Australia against before the World Cup.

“I have no doubt whatsoever that Smith and Warner will be in Australia’s World Cup side.

“They are class players.”