Cricketing great David Warner swapped seats with a passenger after he spotted a breath testing site as he drove drunk from an Easter barbecue, a court has been told.

The former Test cricketer was driving from a social event on Easter Sunday when he spotted a RBT site in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, Judge Clare Farnan told Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

Police saw him “stop short”, park the car, and move from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat before officers approached him and breath tested him.

He returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.104 and was charged with mid-range drink driving, which he pleaded guilty to on Tuesday.

The cricket star had admitted to having three glasses of white wine at a friends house that afternoon.

His court appearance came just hours after he made a social media post about going on holiday with his wife.

“Latersssss Sydney we out,” the Instagram post read.

“You’re killing me darling, another holiday.”

Warner’s lawyer had asked the Judge to consider not convicting his client, citing “vile” social media comments the cricketer had received, the significant media attention, and the potential loss of commercial opportunities as a result of the offence.

He added that Warner’s face would be on the news regardless, telling the court the cricketer would be “publicly denounced”. 

“When he stumbles, the stumble is far greater than one would ordinarily expect,” his lawyer said in a bid to have his client avoid conviction.

The prosecution in turn argued against a non-conviction as Warner is a role model “for children and others all across the world”. 

His traffic record, which includes 10 speeding offences and several times being caught driving while using his mobile phone, was also submitted by the prosecution as reason for Judge Farnan to hand down a conviction.

Judge Farnan ultimately decided to deal with Warner’s matter the same way she would any other mid range drink driver, telling the court that his high profile did not make it appropriate to treat him differently.

She told the court more than 17,000 people had come before the Waverley Local Court for mid range drink driving between 2022 and 2026, calling Warner’s circumstances “quite common”. 

“It’s a matter where in my view general deterrence is a very significant factor,” she said.

“The need to deter others from committing this type of offending is a very real factor in sentencing Mr Warner, and I don’t consider it appropriate to deal with him without a conviction.”

She accepted that Warner is “extremely sorry for what has happened” and has written a letter of apology, and has already completed a traffic offenders program.

Warner was convicted and fined $1500 in the Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

He is also required to have an interlock in his car for a period of 12 months.

Warner was tight lipped as he walked out of court, with the cricketer stumbling at one point as he walked towards an awaiting car.