Sydney Thunder captain will face court next month after being charged by police
David Warner is on his way back to Pakistan to complete his Pakistan Super League campaign with Karachi Kings following an alleged drink driving incident in Sydney on Saturday night.
Cricket NSW confirmed the Sydney Thunder captain had been charged by police after allegedly blowing more than twice the legal limit in a random breath test.
CNSW, who have maintained a 23-year partnership with Transport for NSW, with the Thunder and Brisbane Heat competing annually for the Road Safety Cup, said they were committed to further educating Warner and all players “on the importance of safe driving”.
“Cricket NSW is a strong advocate of safe driving, including avoiding drink driving, and takes incidents of this nature very seriously,” CNSW CEO Lee Germon said in a statement.
“David is aware of the seriousness of these allegations. We will support him through the upcoming process.”
Police said Warner was driving a van that stopped and parked short of a roadside breath testing unit at Maroubra in Sydney’s east, AAP reported.
Officers approached the vehicle and breath-tested Warner, who returned a positive result for alcohol, police said.
He was arrested and taken to Maroubra Police Station for further testing.
The 39-year-old was charged after allegedly producing a blood alcohol reading of 0.104 – more than twice the legal limit.
Warner has been captaining Karachi Kings in the PSL in recent weeks, scoring 50 in their last game in Lahore on April 2 before returning to Australia to spend Easter with his family.
The Kings’ next game is scheduled for Thursday night against Peshawar Zalmi.
His stint comes off the back of a sensational season in the Big Bash, where he averaged 86.60 for the Thunder and was named captain of the official team of the tournament.
He signed a one-year extension with the Thunder in January to play on past the age of 40 next season.
Warner has continued playing T20 cricket domestically in Australia and around the world since his international retirement in 2024. He has since been a regular member of the Fox Cricket commentary team.
The left-hander hit 8,786 runs at an average of more than 44 across his 112 Tests, with a highest score of 335 not out against Pakistan and was a crucial part of Australia’s ODI World Cup wins in 2015 and 2023 and the team’s maiden T20 World Cup triumph in 2021.
Warner will face Downing Centre Local Court on the mid-range drink driving charge on May 7, only days after the PSL final is scheduled to take place in Lahore on May 3 (early morning May 4 AEST).
