Exiled batsman David Warner has mended bridges with his teammates as newly appointed Australia coach Justin Langer declared the deposed vice-captain still had a future in the international game.
The worst-kept secret in Australian sport was formally let out on Thursday when Cricket Australia announced Langer had been given a four-year term as the coach of the national team in all three forms of the game.
David Warner has patched up his relationship with his Australia teammates.
Photo: Brook Mitchell
In a strong sign Warner is firmly in his plans, Langer referred to him and ousted skipper Steve Smith as being the "cream on the top" after they serve their bans.
Warner had all but conceded in his tearful apology that his days in the Australian team were over but the door remains wide open for him to return to the fold once he completes the 12-month suspension imposed by CA.
He appears increasingly likely to play a part in Australia's World Cup and Ashes defences in England next year after positive public comments this week from CA chief James Sutherland and now coach and selector Langer.
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Warner had fallen out with several teammates after being identified as the architect of the ball-tampering plot which brought Australian cricket to its knees. The explosive batsman became estranged from the side in the days after the scandal broke, deleting himself from the team's Whatsapp group, amid fears he had gone "rogue".
Sources close to the team have told Fairfax Media the highly charged emotions at the height of the crisis had contributed to the conflict but there was now no animosity from players towards Warner.
It can also be revealed Warner has been in discussions with his grade club Randwick Petersham to play for nothing in the NSW Premier Cricket competition next season.
"He'll play for us next season," club president Mike Whitney told Fairfax Media. "He's indicated to me he'll definitely be available for the first couple of rounds.
"[There's] no payment at all in any way, shape or form – no petrol money, no lunch money, definitely no payment at all."
Langer was the "very clear standout candidate", according to Sutherland, among the all Australian field. The West Australian coach had been earmarked for the role before the recent controversy, having filled in as interim coach twice.
Right man for the job: Justin Langer.
Photo: AAP
The former Test opener has the job of of guiding Australian cricket out of arguably its darkest time since World Series Cricket when he formally takes over from Darren Lehmann on May 22.
He is without the country's two premier batsmen and has a rookie captain at the helm in Tim Paine, who only a year ago was considering retirement and unable to command a regular game with Tasmania.
With Smith and Warner unavailable, Langer said, there would now be more opportunities for those formerly on the fringe to stake their claims at international level.
"This next 11 months this gives a few people a chance to make us even stronger. They're like the cream on the top now," Langer said.
"If you can build your depth and you have great, great players coming in it's a pretty exciting time."
Despite widespread criticism of player behaviour, Langer, who will sit on the panel of Rick McCosker's player-led review of team culture, did not believe an overhaul of Australia's aggressive playing style was necessary but accepted modifications were required.
He believed sledging, or banter, still had a place in the game if it did not cross the line. The line, he said, would be defined by a player's sense of right from wrong.
"The public will be disappointed if we don't play hard competitive cricket," Langer said.
"We modify our behaviours a bit so that it's not angry or not over aggressive but we're still aggressive in the mindset that we play with the bat and the ball."
Langer's first assignment is next month's one-day international series against world number one England. While Paine has taken over as Test captain, it's unclear who will assume the ODI leadership with former Twenty20 skipper Aaron Finch the favourite.
CA had been looking to install a specialist Twenty20 coach, widely believed to be Ricky Ponting, but Langer was adamant the same coach was needed for all formats.
Langer's tenure includes next year's World Cup, two Ashes series and a World T20 on home soil but he has identified victory on Australia's next Test tour of India as the number one long-term goal.
"To me that's the ultimate. We will judge ourselves as a great cricket team if we beat India in India," Langer said.
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Andrew Wu writes on cricket and AFL for The Sydney Morning Herald
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