Dual international Mat Rogers says fans who abused the family of cricketer David Warner during the Adelaide Test should be “found and banned”.
Rogers’ wife is a close friend of Warner’s wife Candice, who went public on Monday with the “vile abuse” she and her children were subjected to during the second Test against the West Indies.
Warner said she confronted the group, who she called “weak” and “gutless”. Cricket Australia has since offered the family a security escort for the upcoming South African series.
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Speaking on Radio SEN, Rogers called for authorities to take action.
“It made my blood boil,” he said.
“Professional athletes understand that … the fans are engaged, you hear some stuff that you’d probably rather not, but you can sort of brush it off.
“But for someone to attack the wife of a player whilst having her kids with her and having them subjected to that, they should be found and banned, it’s just not on.
“It happens way too much on social media, where people think they have the right comment and say whatever, I think sometimes their brains detach from their bodies when they write on these posts.”
Warner is under increasing pressure to hold his spot in the team, after a lean run dating back to 2020.
Since the COVID-19 hiatus, Warner averages 28.12 from 25 Test innings, with just four half centuries.
He averaged just 25.25 in the recent series against the West Indies, while many of his teammates cashed in against the tourists’ relatively weak bowling attack.
He’ll face a much tougher examination from a South African bowling lineup that includes Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.
It’s also the first time Australia has played a Test against South Africa since the Sandpapergate series in 2018.
“He can handle it, he’s tough… they’re (South African fans) not going to let up on him, a good sledge is one that’s true and you know it’s true,” Rogers said.
“(The sledges) are all going to hit the mark, it’s all about how he responds to it, he’s a tough athlete, this is a line-in-the-sand moment for him.”
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