MATCH STORIES
Follow UsFor close to a decade and a half now, we’ve been so accustomed to seeing David Warner walk out to the middle with a point to prove.
In that sense, watching Warner bat in this T20 World Cup has been a very, very different and unique experience.
Warner entered this tournament knowing that it’ll be his last ever — not just in T20Is but overall in international cricket. And it feels like this clarity, knowing for sure that the end is here, has liberated the 37-year-old.
For once, it feels like we’ve not been watching the old Warner, who’s always got a point to prove, bat.
Instead, it feels like we’ve been witnessing someone who just wants to enjoy his final few days at the top level, someone who knows very well that he’s achieved everything he possibly could and has nothing to prove to anyone anymore.
We got the first real glimpse of this ‘I’m here for a good time’ version of Warner in the clash against England in Barbados two weeks ago.
All the talk heading into the clash was about Warner’s inability to rise to the occasion against England in the shortest format. Before that game, he had averaged 21.07 across 14 innings against the Three Lions in T20Is. He’d played two T20WC games against them, and his scores in those matches read 1 & 2.
It’d hence have been understandable had Warner begun that clash a bit tentatively, but he slog-swept the first ball he faced for a six over mid-wicket.
He then went on to play one of the vibiest cameos of his career, smashing 39 off 16 balls to ensure Australia pretty much won that particular contest in the powerplay.
It was what happened after his innings, however, that indicated this was a Warner different from the one we’re used to seeing.
After going too full too often, Moeen Ali finally pitched one on the right length and got the ball to skid and castle Warner’s stumps. It would have been understandable had Warner been frustrated by the dismissal since there was a massive score there for the taking. Certainly, the Warner of old or the Warner who’s got a point to prove would have berated himself.
But here, he instead let out a big smile and walked off, fully satisfied with what he’d contributed.
On June 20 (Thursday) in Antigua, we saw more of this new Warner in the Super 8s clash against Bangladesh.
With Australia opening with two left-handers, Bangladesh decided to throw the new ball to off-spinner Mahedi Hasan, who had been drafted into the side for this exact matchup.
Warner could easily have approached the ‘negative’ matchup with caution — considering the other two Bangladesh spinners, Shakib and Rishad, turn the ball into him — but he pulled out the switch hit on the very second ball.
It was a high-risk option. A risk probably not worth taking even if the rewards were slightly high because, well, this was the powerplay, where there are easier, lower risk means to get the same rewards. But carefree as ever, Warner asserted his dominance and made his play by unleashing the switch hit very early on.
This one stroke pretty much set the tone for the rest of the innings. Warner went on to hit two more boundaries off Mahedi, both sixes over mid-wicket, and Australia were 59/0 at the end of the powerplay. The chase was all but done at this point.
But while the chase was effectively done, the Warner show was far from over. The left-hander, in fact, was just getting started.
The post-powerplay phase saw Warner hit three more delightful boundaries, each sumptuous and exquisite and had his signature all over them.
The first was a trademark pull shot off Mustafizur Rahman, which helped him win the mini-battle against Bangladesh’s talisman. The fourth ball of the 10th over saw Mustafizur surprise Warner with an unexpected short ball that had the veteran ducking for cover.
Pleased by what he saw, Mustafizur thought he could rattle Warner twice in two balls, but he instead ended up seeing the second short ball he bowled — on the fifth ball of the over — rocket its way to the boundary rope.
The second of the three boundaries was a switch hit, the second of the night, this time off the bowling of Rishad Hossain. Having taken two wickets and conceded just 10 runs off his first two overs, the young leggie was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh on the night when he walked in to bowl to the veteran.
Rishad tossed one up in the hope of outfoxing Warner, but he instead ended up getting outsmarted by the wily old fox as Warner effortlessly brought out a trademark reverse hit to stun the bowler.
The third of the three boundaries, however, turned out to be the pick of Warner’s hits on the night. Full and into the slot from Taskin, the left-hander played a stunning pick-up shot to dispatch the ball into the stands and bring up his fifty.
It was, in itself, a shot that summed up Warner’s innings and his entire tournament thus far: perfection.
Warner entered the clash against Bangladesh, knowing he had no more than five matches left in his international career. He played like someone who wanted to enjoy every single second he bats in whatever remaining time he has at this level.
If this is the mood he’s going to be in the remainder of this tournament, then well, it’s pretty bad news for the rest of the field.
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