A stunning report in The Age has alleged that Cricket Australia is not only considering overturning the lifetime leadership ban on David Warner, but that a life ban from cricket altogether was initially floated.
The report comes as the Sydney Thunder are hoping to have Warner's ban overturned in time for the BBL season ahead of a crucial upcoming Cricket Australia board meeting.
Following one of the darkest days in Australian cricket in Cape Town, where Warner, Steve Smith and Cam Bancroft were all implicated in a ball-tampering scandal, CA are reported to have been more lenient than they had first intended with the bans.
Despite Smith, Warner and Bancroft being banned from all forms of cricket for either nine or twelve months, Warner was also barred from leadership roles for life. As severe as those punishments were, the report states that it could have been much worse.
Cricket Australia directors, led by chair at the time David Peever, had initially discussed banning the trio from the game for life.
Despite the public outrage and calls from corporate sponsors for a punishment so severe, Cricket Australia saw reason. The punishments were initially discussed directly after the fiasco in Cape Town.
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While in a hotel room in the picturesque South African city, the explosive meeting was postponed, so that all could sleep on the matter before deciding on penalties in the cold light of day.
While a five-year ban for Warner was mentioned, Cricket Australia settled on banning both he and Smith for a year, while Bancroft was given nine months.
Following the scandal, all players have returned to professional cricket, with Smith's leadership ban of two years passing, as he now finds himself the Australian Test team's vice-captain.
However, Warner's leadership ban still remains, something he is well known to resent. That is despite an earlier incident involving the opener in the now infamous "Sandpaper-Gate" Test already placing him under heavy scrutiny.
Cricket Australia had already informed Captain at the time Steve Smith that they were unhappy with Warner's conduct following a heated altercation with South Africa's Quinton De Kock.
The pair clashed in the stairwell leading to the change rooms, in incredibly ugly scenes for Australia cricket. Warner was also spoken to by CA chiefs and instructed to fly "under the radar" so as not to cause any further issues.
Within days, Australian cricket was embroiled in the biggest scandal of the modern era. Yet the warning signs had been there for years leading up to the events in Cape Town.
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The Australian cricket team had been involved in several ugly incidents, with the aggressive culture being routinely questioned. Warner had been seen as the leader and chief antagonist for much of the time under coach Darren Lehmann's tenure.
Warner's leadership ban has grated on him to the point he even hinted he would quit all Australian cricket if it were not overturned.
For this to occur, the CA board would need to ask its Head of Integrity, Jacqui Partridge, for a review of the code of conduct. It puts Cricket Australia in somewhat of a bind.
Either they review and rewrite their own Code of Conduct, or they choose not to take the matter any further. This would potentially result in the loss of Warner to Australian cricket for good.
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Following an in depth cultural review that has launched a new era in Australian Cricket, the last vestige of one of its ugliest era's still stands.
With a situation this complicated, Cricket Australia have a huge decision to make and time will tell if they remain firm on their values ahead of a monster summer.
