David and Candice Warner open up about ball-tampering toll
David Warner, the suspended Australia batsman, and his wife Candice have opened up about the emotional and mental toll the family endured during the South Africa tour and in the aftermath of the ball-tampering controversy.
Candice, in an interview to Australian Women’s Weekly, revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage soon after her husband’s tearful press conference and their return to Australia amid intense criticism.
Losing their baby was “a tragic consequence, a heart-breaking end to a horror tour”, she said.
Candice was targeted by the South Africa crowd in the Newlands Test, even as footage of the off-field confrontation between David and Quinton de Kock from the Durban Test went viral. According to reports, that incident in an increasingly ill-tempered series was triggered by de Kock’s comments about Candice.
David Warner was the mastermind behind the ball-tampering plot
Australia were then embroiled in the ball-tampering controversy in Cape Town, with David later revealed to be the mastermind.
Having her past dragged up made her feel like a “like a dirty, horrible person”, Candice said. “I was a target right from the start of the tour and I’d have to be bullet-proof for the taunting not to have affected me. It rocked my very foundation and I paid the ultimate price, losing our baby. It was the final blow.
“The entire ordeal from the public humiliations to the ball tampering, it had taken its toll and, from that moment, we decided that no sport, nothing will ever impact our lives like that again.”
“We as a family have been through one of the toughest times ever”
Following the interview, David took to social media to pay tribute to his wife. “We as a family have been through one of the toughest times ever the last few months, but nothing will ever stop us from being just us,” he wrote.
“My wife my rock has endured pain, disappointment, regrets in her past and so many highs and lows, but the courage Candice has shown in recent months is a testament to the qualities she has as a mother, person, friend and wife. I’m grateful every day I get to call her my wife and my soul mate, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
David, along with Steve Smith, was handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months for their roles in the Cape Town incident.
