“When you let the bat do all the talking” - David Warner’s wife Candice reacts to his 164-run knock in AUS vs PAK Perth Test
David Warner’s wife Candice has reacted to his 164-run inning against Pakistan in the Perth Test with a mouth-shutting emoji. The reaction came as Warner’s century helped Australia dominate Day 1 against the visitors.
Warner hit four sixes and 16 boundaries during his marathon knock against the Asian giants. The left-handed batter was eventually dismissed by debutante Aamir Jamal as he holed out to Imam-ul-Haq at deep backward square, thereby missing out on a double century.
Following the ton, Candice shared the mouth-shutting emoji (also known as the shush emoji) on X (formerly Twitter), in what seemed to be an indirect reply to silence his critics.
She also shared a celebratory photo with the caption:
“When you let the bat do all the talking. Test match century #26.”
Warner looked delighted with his ton to return to form after an underwhelming 2023 Ashes in England. He celebrated in his trademark style to hit back at critics. Following his century, Warner told Fox Sports:
“It’s my job is to come here and score runs, it was good to get a partnership with Uzzie. (On his century) It does feel great, it’s about putting runs on the board for the bowlers. No better way to silence the critics than by putting runs on the board.”
The knock comes weeks after Mitchell Johnson criticized David Warner’s selection for the three-Test series against Pakistan. In a column for West Australian, Johnson had said:
“Why a struggling Test opener gets to nominate his own retirement date. And why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero’s send-off?”
He had written:
“Yes, he has a decent overall record and some say is one of our greatest opening bats. But his past three years in Test cricket have been ordinary, with a batting average closer to what a tailender would be happy with.”
Former Australian opener (and later head coach) Justin Langer discouraged Johnson's public criticism of a former national teammate, suggesting to the former pacer to grievance his issues about any compatriot privately instead.
David Warner’s ton guides Australia to 346/5 vs Pakistan at stumps on Day 1
David Warner’s century helped Australia finish Day 1 in a strong position. The Aussies took stumps at 346/5 after 84 overs, with Mitchell Marsh (15 off 31) and Alex Carey (14 off 32) at the crease.
Apart from Warner, Usman Khawaja, Travis Head and Steve Smith chipped in with scores of 41 (98), 40 (53) and 31 (60).
Pakistani debutante Aamer Jamal starred with the ball, bagging two wickets for the visitors. Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi, Khurram Shehzad and Faheem Ashraf took one wicket apiece.
Follow the AUS vs PAK 1st Test live score and updates here.