Former Australia opener David Warner will accept responsibility for a drink-driving charge after allegedly returning more than twice the legal blood alcohol limit during a random breath test in Sydney last month.
Warner, 39, did not appear at Waverley Local Court on Thursday, with the matter adjourned until June. His lawyer Bobby Hill told reporters outside court that the former cricketer accepted that his actions were “reckless” and “foolish”.
“I can indicate that David will be accepting responsibility for drink-driving,” Hill said, according to ABC. “He knows what he did was wrong. He accepts that was a reckless decision, a foolish decision to get in his car instead of taking an Uber.”
According to Hill, Warner had consumed three glasses of wine at a friend’s apartment before deciding to drive home.
“It’s not a crime to have a glass of wine on the day of the lord’s resurrection. In fact, some would consider that completely appropriate,” Hill said. “His crime is, as I said, choosing a foolish plan A instead of a plan B.”
Warner was charged in April after police conducted stationary random breath testing on Malabar Road in Maroubra, Sydney. According to New South Wales Police, officers noticed a van allegedly stop short of the testing site before approaching the vehicle and conducting a roadside breath test.
The former Australian batsman was then taken to Maroubra Police Station, where a second test allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.104 – more than twice the legal limit of 0.05 for fully licensed drivers in New South Wales. He was subsequently charged with a middle-range prescribed concentration of alcohol (PCA).
One aspect of the case that remains disputed, according to Hill, concerns the timing of the second breath test and its impact on the final reading.
Warner retired from international cricket in 2024 after a career spanning 112 Tests, 161 ODIs and 110 T20Is for Australia. He remains one of the country’s most accomplished white-ball batsmen and played key roles in Australia’s ODI World Cup triumph in 2015 and T20 World Cup success in 2021.
Despite stepping away from international cricket, Warner continues to play franchise cricket around the world. He is currently captain of the Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League and also leads the Sydney Thunder in Australia’s domestic T20 competition.
Following the charge in April, Cricket NSW chief executive Lee Germon described the allegations as “concerning” and said the organisation took the matter “very seriously”.
“At Cricket NSW, we are strong advocates for safe driving, not drink-driving,” Germon had said.
Warner’s next court appearance is scheduled for June, when the matter is expected to proceed further. Under New South Wales law, middle-range PCA offences can attract fines, licence suspensions and other penalties depending on the circumstances and prior record of the accused. Warner has not made any public statement since the charge became known.
