Warner says he's matured a lot since the face-off with Rohit Sharma last summer
Even though the third Test between Australia and West Indies ended up in a rain-affected draw, that had only two full days of play, David Warner had plenty to discuss during the post-match press conference where he revealed that he has matured a lot since last summer’s face-off against the Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma.
The Australian vice-captain sat down along with his daughter Ivy May, to talk at length about upcoming series against India, the tour to New Zealand that follows, and the opponents of the drawn Test, the West Indies.
Beginning with the drawn Test, Warner said that he was really happy that the fans got to see some cricket on the final day, after what had been a frustrating stretch of three days, when rain played more (spoil)sport than the players.
Challenging conditions in NZ
“Obviously, it’s disappointing (that) we can’t control the weather, and I’m just extremely happy that the fans got to see some cricket. We tried to be as positive as we could out there, and tried to play with as much intent as we can, and tried to score some runs to give the fans something to watch," Warner said.
Hailing the conditions in New Zealand as quite similar to those in England, the southpaw felt that there would be a lot more swing on offer, as was seen against Sri Lanka in the ongoing series.
“The wicket would probably be a bit greener as we saw the wicket against Sri Lanka where it was greener on day 1 and day 2, and then actually flattened out a little bit and I think it spun.”
“But in the end, we’re gonna go out there and play with the same intent as we do out here in Australia. We know that the swinging conditions are going to favour them (NZ) but we’d have to be at the top of our game to really beat them there at their home.”
India and the spat against Rohit
The conversation then moved on to the limited-overs fixtures against India starting on January 12, and the opening batsmen said that he was really looking forward to it.
“I am definitely looking forward to it. India is going to be very challenging, they always bring a good team and a competitive team out here. I have heard them speak about how much they try to beat us over here and we know what they’re going to bring to the table.”
“So we would be on our game from ball one.”
Speaking of India, it was almost inevitable that his altercation with Rohit Sharma came up sooner or later, and when it did come up, courtesy a reporter who reminded Warner of the incident when he had an ugly spat with the Indian opener over taking an extra run, the Australian played safe.
“Look, obviously, that’s in the past, and I’ve matured a lot since then. I had let my emotions take over there.”
Smith’s fitness and partnership with Burns
Before the team for the India series was announced, there were speculations that Warner may lead the team in the absence of Steve Smith, who was said to have reported a few injuries to his hip.
However, Smith was named captain when the squad was announced, and when a question came up regarding the incumbent captain’s absence, his deputy had this to say, “At the end of the day, Steve’s still the captain, and he’s out on the park, and we don’t have to worry about that until things happen.”
“But he is fit and ready to go.”
In the Test arena, Warner’s association with Joe Burns has been an instant hit, as far as opening the batting for Australia is concerned, as they have already shared four 100+ stands since they first got together.
On being asked about the new partner since Chris Rogers’ retirement post-Ashes, the New South Wales batsman expressed his support behind the left hand-right hand combination.
“I like that left hand-right hand combination, I think it works great. I think it’s four or five (times) now that we’ve scored a hundred-run partnership, and we gel so well out there.”
“He compliments the way I play and I compliment him. At the moment, we’re going really well, but the next couple of months we've got New Zealand and then we're gonna go to Sri Lanka and it’s gonna be some tough challenges for us not just as a partnership at the top of the order, but as a team.”
West Indies cricket and Jason Holder
Lauding the West Indies and their 25-year old captain Jason Holder, Warner negated the observations of the current WI team not being the best that can take to the field as he felt that one doesn’t really now whether those players (players out of the squad) would get selected if available.
“We heard what Jason Holder said. They’re a young team, he’s a young captain, and you can only learn, and he’s learnt a lot.”
“Moving forward, I think they are in a great place with Jason as a leader. He’s a great guy. I obviously play in the same IPL team as him. He’s got a great knowledge about the game and that's one thing that I do like about him.”
“West Indies cricket needs to get behind him and rally behind him,” said he as he signed off.