Warner praised for brilliant act of sportsmanship against Smith

David Warner has won praise in the Caribbean Premier League with a classy act of sportsmanship.

Warner’s St Lucia Stars were taking on Steve Smith’s Barbados Tridents on Saturday when the brilliant moment occurred.

The suspended Australian Test batsman came charging in from the outfield to take a catch, and appeared to pouch the chance cleanly.

Commentators were convinced it was out and Warner’s teammates started celebrating, before the Aussie showed some brilliant sportsmanship.

Instead of claiming the catch or waiting for umpires to make a decision, Warner tossed the ball back in and gestured that he hadn’t caught it.

Replays showed the ball bouncing ever so slightly before going into Warner’s hands.

“That’s some brilliant sportsmanship from Warner,” one TV commentator said.

Unfortunately the Aussie’s lean run with the bat continued, caught behind for 0.

Smith made a quick-fire 28 off 15 balls, but his cameo wasn’t enough to stop the Stars recording their first win of the tournament.

Kieron Pollard smashed a swashbuckling century off just 53 balls, leading the Stars to a mammoth total of 226, which the Tridents fell short of by 38 runs.

Smith and Warner were seen sharing a laugh after the match, despite reports they have fallen out in the wake of the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.