David Warner could become cricket's Cristiano Ronaldo

David Warner received constant booing and jeering from the Old Trafford crowd during the entirety of the third Ashes Test. The reasons for that are well-known. It is highly unlikely that those boos will not accompany him to Chester-Le-Street and beyond. Shrikant Shankar sees similarities between what Warner is facing and what footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been facing ever since 2006 and writes that this might be a positive thing for the Australian batsman.

Australia’s David Warner got some unwanted attention during the third Ashes Test against England in Manchester. He was jeered throughout the match by the faithful Old Trafford crowd. His presence on the field was enough for the home fans to launch their verbal volleys at him. If he ran to field the ball — he was booed, if he threw the ball — he was booed, if he was shining the ball — he was booed, if he looked at the crowd — he was booed, if he just stood — he was booed, if he was batting — he was booed; you get the picture.
 
Warner fielded in the deep and was deployed at the boundary line for major part of the English innings. That is barely a few feet away from the fans — a reasonable distance for Warner to hear what all would be talked about him. So, it may not be a surprise to learn that Warner actually heard every single word muttered by the fans clearly. The reason the fans took to a liking to him in that manner is clear — he punched England’s golden boy Joe Root. He was then suspended for Australia’s two warm-up matches prior to the first Test at Trent Bridge. He was then sent to tour with the Australia A side to Africa and missed the second Test at Lord’s. He scored an attacking 193 against South Africa A and showed his immense run-hunger and willingness to make a comeback in the Australian scheme of things. Warner did make a comeback in the side.
 
In the second innings, to add more to it, he was caught by Root. He has definitely become a pantomime villain for the English fans. But Warner did not seem riled by all of it. He even joked about being caught by Root. In fact he was seen smiling throughout the match while on the field. He said that the crowd interaction was “fantastic”. His innings in that second innings showed that he had a lot of character. He scored a quick 57-ball 41 and looked in good form. He was also back at his preferred opening position. All these things bode well for Australia, especially after their much improved performance in the third Test. They might have only drawn the match, but could have even won if the heaven had not opened up.
 
Warner may not get rid of the boos and jeers for a while now. He will definitely face them in the fourth Test in Durham and he will definitely face them for a long time to come. There are similarities with what Warner is facing and what footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has been facing ever since 2006. For those who do not know what exactly happened in the footballing world seven years ago, here is a flashback.
 
Cristiano Ronaldo’s incident with Wayne Rooney
During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, England met Portugal in the quarter-finals. England’s hopes were pinned on Wayne Rooney and Portugal’s on Ronaldo. There were already instances during the match that Portugal would target a highly volatile Rooney and get him to do something rash. Ronaldo had fiercely prodded his face at Rooney before the start of the match, to which Rooney just smiled. Then during the match, Rooney fought for the ball with Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho and stamped on him.
 
Ronaldo immediately came rushing towards the referee and started gesturing. Angrily Rooney pushed Ronaldo away. The England player was sent-off and missed the rest of the match. Ronaldo was seen winking towards the Portuguese bench. Portugal won the match on penalties. Ronaldo instantly became England’s most hated footballer. The key element in all of this is that Rooney and Ronaldo were at the time teammates at English club Manchester United. The hate mails and calls for his removal from United fans caused Ronaldo to consider his future with the club.

He was, though, encouraged by manager Alex Ferguson to continue at United. Ronaldo stayed and got booed and jeered by fans all across England. The one place he was not at the receiving end was at Old Trafford (Manchester United’s home ground). Ronaldo led United to its greatest era by winning multiple titles. He soon became the World’s greatest player and won the prestigious FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2008.
 
Ever since that incident, Ronaldo has improved every year and has established himself as one of the game’s all-time greats. The boos have not stopped though, as every time he plays away from home he is constantly jeered. This has, however, made him mentally tougher and usually always performs brilliantly. Ronaldo even said he enjoys it on most occasions.
 
What Warner can learn from all of this?
Like Ronaldo, Warner was always seen as someone who has immense talent and it was a question of whether he could channel it properly. Ronaldo had a steady progress till that incident with Rooney. After the incident, his progress was rapid. That was the trigger or the catalyst to what Ronaldo has become today. Warner has had many such incidents though. But he was never constantly booed due to other incidents, whether be it his tirade against Australian journalists or be it his Twitter spat with countryman Brett Geeves.
 
Now Warner is in England and he punched an English player. He will always be the centre of the fans’ attention as long as he is in England. He might even face similar hostilities from fans in other countries. So, coming back to what Warner said, he does not seem too much bothered by it all. He rather enjoys it and his innings in the second innings showed that he was not at all afraid or affected by the fans. This can be a positive thing for him after all.
 
If David Warner can continue like this and do all the talking and punching with his bat, then there is nothing to stop him from becoming cricket’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

(Shrikant Shankar previously worked with Mobile ESPN, where he did audio commentary for many matches involving India, Indian Premier League and Champions League Twenty20. He has also written many articles involving other sports for ESPNSTAR.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Shrikant_23)