New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has defended David Warner in the wake of the ball tampering scandal. Williamson also noted that Warner is not a bad guy.

With New Zealand’s build-up to the second Test against England, starting tomorrow (March 30th) overshadowed by the international reaction to the cheating affair in South Africa, Williamson said he has been in touch with Warner.

“It’s a shame. The act is not condoned in any team,” Williamson said. “It will blow over in time, but it’s grown and grown and, like I say, he’s not a bad guy. He’s made a mistake and certainly admitted that and they are disappointed with that action,” he added.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia had already sanctioned the disgraced trio. While Steven Smith and Warner got 12 months ban, Cameron Bancroft will serve a nine-month ban.

Further, Smith can lead any Australian side for the next two years while Warner was told he would never captain an Australia side again.

Williamson described the punishment as “strong”, but defended Warner as a person. Further, the Kiwi captain was a teammate with Warner in Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“He’s not a bad person by any means. They (Warner and Smith) have made a mistake, they have certainly admitted that and they are disappointed with that action so they will have to take that punishment, strong punishment that it is,” said Williamson.

Meanwhile, coach Darren Lehmann called for a culture change in Australian cricket. He also held up New Zealand as an example of how to play and respect the opposition.

Under former captain Brendon McCullum and coach Mike Hesson, New Zealand adopted a “hard but fair” approach.

“We take pride in our performance, in the way we go about things and we want to continue to do that,” said Williamson. “On the park, it’s about how we control ourselves, how we want to play our cricket. I think if you look after that and look after your own yard then that competitive nature is created between two teams, but there’s not personal aspects,” he concluded.