Australian vice-captain Steve Smith has leapt to the defence of embattled teammate David Warner, admitting the lifetime leadership ban handed down four years ago was the wrong decision.
Warner's name has been in the headlines in recent days, after a shock decision to withdraw his appeal that could have potentially seen his suspension overturned and open the door for a formal leadership role.
The 36-year-old was handed the heavy punishment back in 2018 for his involvement in the ball-tampering saga, which his manager James Erskine has since alleged was pushed by Cricket Australia executives.
Warner's form with the bat and the drama surrounding him prompted a strong defence from Smith on Sunday night, following a mammoth 419-run victory over West Indies at Adelaide Oval, who also backed his teammate to turn things around soon.
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"From my point of view, banning someone for life from leadership is just fundamentally wrong," he said in a post-match press conference.
"David served his time like I did. For us, we know he's a leader around the group, and on and off the field he's doing a tremendous job. It's been a difficult one for him, it's been a difficult week.
"David has said he's done and dusted and wants to get on with it - he's got our full support. Hopefully he can have a really big series for us against South Africa with the bat.
"Davey's a once in a generation player, he's arguably the best ever opener for Australia. The way he's able to put pressure on bowlers from the outset helps everyone down the order as well.
"He's been an incredible player for a long period of time, his record suggests that. There's no reason why he can't have a big series for us coming this week as well. He's batting nicely.
"He hasn't had a great deal of luck lately either, it seems like every time he gets an inside edge, it goes onto the stumps. A lot of the time when you're scoring runs, you need some luck."
Warner registered scores of 21 and 28 in the pink-ball Test, and the left-hander will be hoping for a big score when the Aussies turn their attention to a three-game series against South Africa.
Opening partner and close mate Usman Khawaja shut down any suggestions of Warner being axed from the side, pointing to the lack of options in domestic cricket to replace the veteran.
"I've played a lot of Shield cricket over the last few years and I can guarantee you there's no better opener than David Warner in Australia," he told cricket.com.au after the match.
"For me all the chat is a bit weird. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. It's not even coming into talks in the change room, it's not even thought about."
Australia will begin their series with the Proteas on December 17th at The Gabba.