Australian captain Michael Clarke and Cricket Australia (CA) officials have denied allegations that former vice-captain Shane Watson had objected to the way Australia was handling the David Warner affair.
A television report had said that said CA officials at the ICC Champions Trophy were attempting to cover up Warner's altercation with England rival Joe Root in a Birmingham nightclub early on Sunday morning, by allegedly dismissing it as minor and not worthy of punishment, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
According to the paper, the report had further claimed that Watson had responded to that decision by accusing Australian coach Mickey Arthur of double standards and had objected to keeping the issue in-house, adding that his confrontation with Arthur led to Warner eventually being stood down from Wednesday's match against New Zealand.
However, Clarke denied the allegations, saying that Watson did not take up any concerns with Arthur, adding that he had also never challenged Arthur about having a problem with the way they deal as a leadership group.
Denying that CA officials and the leadership group had originally underestimated the seriousness of the issue, Clarke further said that he believes that each person in the group is aware of what is required of them as an Australian cricketer, adding that they are also aware that the happenings of that night are not acceptable by anyone in the team.
According to the paper, there is confusion over exactly how and when officials and senior members of the Australian team found out about the incident, adding that players Clint McKay, Mitchell Marsh, Phillip Hughes, Glenn Maxwell and Matthew Wade were also with Warner when the incident occurred at the Walkabout bar.
But, the skipper said that it was 'irrelevant' about how he and the other senior members of the team had found out about the incident, adding that he does not think that it made any difference to the case.