"Don't think it's going to happen" - David Warner insists there will never be a batter of his vintage in the future
Veteran Australian opener David Warner has iterated that there won't be a consistent multi-format batter like him in the near future. The dynamic southpaw also took time to reflect on his former teammate Phillip Hughes' death and how it impacted him at that point.
Warner has indeed been one of the greatest servants of Australian cricket for over a decade. The 36-year-old made his international debut in 2009 and has scored over 15000 runs across formats, leaving an impact in both red and white-ball cricket.
Speaking to News Corp, he said:
"There might be the odd one that jumps out. But I don't think you're going to see a five-10 year career cricketer playing all three forms. I just don't think it's going to happen."
The New South Wales opener has endured a slump in Test cricket and has faced widespread calls to quit the format. The southpaw, who has not scored a Test hundred since January 2020, perished for a first-ball duck in the first innings of the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane.
"I felt like at that stage we didn't deserve to be there" - David Warner
Reflecting on the Test match against India just days after Hughes' death (he was hit by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield game), Warner said he just went out there and played freely.
He also gave up alcohol at the time as his wife was pregnant, elaborating:
"I didn’t put a value on my wicket. I just went out there and saw the ball and reacted. It was fiery that Test match. I felt like at that stage we didn’t deserve to be out there. It was very, very difficult. I know Hughesy would have wanted us to go back out there. That was the type of person he was. He just cared about everyone else."
Michael Clarke's emotional tribute to Phillip Hughes on behalf of the Australian cricket team: cricketa.us/1FDmnNM http://t.co/2oNMNKQBjL
That Test saw the southpaw smash twin hundreds at the Adelaide Oval against India as Australia won the match by 48 runs.
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