Suvajit Mustafi writes about Australian big hitter David Warner who is having a terrific run with both club and country.
Back in the Australian summer of 2009, a young 22-year old guy from New South Wales (NSW) was handed the Australian cap, ahead of a Twenty20 International (T20I) against South Africa. The youngster responded the faith by striking a match-winning 89 from 43 balls.
David Warner hadn’t yet played First-Class cricket then and was perceived as another slogger tailor-made for the new booming generation of the shortest format. Fast forward to six years, a question arises in many minds: Is Warner currently the best left-handed batsman playing all forms of cricket?
Kumar Sangakkara has retired from limited-overs cricket. And if Test cricket is what we are talking of, then without a doubt the crown is his. When we talk of Twenty20 cricket, the other left handers who would feature above Warner: a certain Chris Gayle and Suresh Raina to some extent.
In One-Day Internationals (ODIs), not considering Sangakkara, the left-handers who rank above Warner in ICC ODI rankings are Quinton de Kock, Raina and David Miller.
Warner’s batting is not for the elite, not quite his once mentor Virender Sehwag style as well. Sehwag plays squarer and off-his pads, while Warner plays straighter and loves to pull. Warner at the top brings memories of Adam Gilchrist, but there is a certain Matthew Hayden too in him which makes him shift gears in order to consolidate. He is approach is the same across formats; he keeps it very simple. If the ball is to be hit, he will go for it.
The first eight deliveries that the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) skipper Warner faced against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday read: 4, 2, 1, 4, 4, 0, 4 and 6. Twenty-five form eight and at the end of the second over the scoreboard read 36 for no loss. The match was set-up.
That’s the impact that Warner has at the very start of the innings. Warner was dismissed after he scored a 57 from 27 balls; the momentum was set and the chase of 167 was a walk in the park.
Since 2013, there’s more seriousness into Warner’s play especially after he was dropped from the national side after he got involved in a pub brawl with England cricketer Joe Root. He punched Root and got himself dropped. His international career was in jeopardy. Senses returned and post the Ashes, he transformed for good.
Since Ashes of 2013-14, Warner has played 14 Tests amassing 1732 runs at an average of 64.14 and has scored nine hundreds at a rate close to 80. Even in ODIs, he has taken his game to another level. He was an average ODI cricketer till then, but since then he has scored runs at an average of 43.52 and a strike- rate of 104!
Even in IPL he has fared exceptionally. In 2014 season, he was the fourth highest run-getter. In fact, since the 2013-14 Ashes he has scored 638 runs for SRH from 16 matches at an average of 48.3 and a strike-rate of 143.4! Despite his errant behaviour history, SRH still thrust the captaincy to Warner as they couldn’t ignore his overpowering presence on the cricketing field.
The cliché goes that a batsman is at his peak between 28 to 33. Warner is 28 and looking at better and bigger things ahead. The unexpected rise of Warner has benefited the game as he has taken forward the Sehwag style of opening the batting in Tests and in limited-overs cricket too he has turned indispensable to any side he plays for.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "David-Warner")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}