Lehmann backs Warner after de Kock fracas

"We want to play a way that gets us success and for us we’ve just got to make sure we don’t cross the line, that’s the key"

Darren Lehmann has come out in support of Australia’s vice-captain in the wake of CCTV footage emerging of the opener being restrained by team-mates. 

It was claimed by Steve Smith that Quinton de Kock had made personal remarks to Warner as the players left the field during the first Test at Durban.

Smith said: “Getting personal on the field is not on and that's crossing the line, in my opinion.”

Now the head coach has followed suit in putting his support behind Warner.

“We’re certainly supporting David," said Lehmann.

"We want to play a way that gets us success and for us we’ve just got to make sure we don’t cross the line, that’s the key.

“There are things that cross the line and evoke emotion and you’ve got to deal with that behind closed doors and get better at that.”

^{CCTV footage showed a coming-together}

Australia won the first Test by 118 runs - despite a battling 147-run stand between Aiden Markram (143) and de Kock (83) - and Lehmann knows the three remaining matches will prove a stern examination of his team.

"It’s going to be a bloody tough series, as we’ve seen over the five days here.

"From our point of view, the cricket is the most important. It was a really good game of cricket [in Durban]. We played well, there were ups and downs in the game.

"It’s going to be a tight series this one, there’s no doubt about that. It’s going to be played very hard on the field by both sides it looks like. I’m sure the captains will chat and the coaches will chat and we’ll get away to play the game.

"Both sides are going to push the boundaries. That’s part and parcel of Test-match cricket. It’s a bloody tough game out there and you’re representing your country. We're proud countries, both sides. The way they want to play is fiercely competitive on the ground. As long as it doesn’t get personal, that’s probably the key.”

^{The second Test starts on Friday at Port Elizabeth}