Whether you view David Warner’s path to international cricket as being progressive, eccentric or flawed, you may be of the opinion that his withdrawal from it might be slightly irregular as well.
As everyone knows, in 2009 the Paddington-born opening batsman became the first Australian cricketer for over 100 years to play for Australia without having primarily sampled first class cricket.
The last time it occurred Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina had just been published, back in 1877. The general theme of insecurities laid bare that punctuate the book could act as a metaphor for Warner.
He started well enough on his international debut, hitting a confident 89 off 43 balls in a Twenty20 international at the MCG against South Africa.
His technique as a left hand bat looked good too. He also achieved a NSW one-day record at the time of 165, and smashed a formidable 97 from 54 balls in the Ford Ranger Cup.
In all that year he scored 390 runs in that comp at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 129.
An IPL contract followed with the Delhi Daredevils, and various commercial spin-offs followed including a lucrative deal to use a two-sided bat.
Quite simply he was a 21st century type of cricketer – dynamic, fearless, powerful and an excellent fielder to boot – Warner was used as a substitute fielder in Australia’s Test against South Africa in Perth in 2005-06.
He also happened to ply his trade in different competitions in different continents, even if the IPL was described by renowned Australian journalist Robert Craddock as “the sunniest of places for the shadiest people”.
In 2011, he achieved success with the red ball too, carrying his bat in what was only his second Test – something Hayden and Langer never achieved – against New Zealand in what ultimately was a stunning win for the Black Caps.
And after 19 Tests he averages a solid 39, which is certainly a platform to build on.
Yet Warner has a history of landing in trouble. A keen surfer, in 2007-08 Warner completed his second year with New South Wales, but after spending his winter at the Academy, he was sent home prematurely for general untidiness.
In the early hours of Sunday morning (GMT) the England and Wales Cricket Board alleged in a statement that there was an “unprovoked physical attack” on an England team player – later confirmed to be Joe Root – in an Australian themed pub called The Walkabout in Birmingham.
Let’s get things straight, according to eye-witness accounts (I called the pub myself but was issued with a stern “no comment”) I gather it wasn’t a vicious assault in any understanding of the term.
An unnamed source described it as a ‘glancing blow’. Warner has already apologised to Root. Alastair Cook has called for everyone to move on, and George Bailey called it “minor” – even if Jason Gillespie called Warner’s actions “unacceptable”.
I know the pub well having visited it after various cricket and football matches in the city. I have seen anti-social behaviour occur and have seen bouncers react very quickly to it.
The fact that the bouncers didn’t even throw anyone out, nor were the Police called indicates it was a minor transgression.
A generation or two previously, after the initial flare-up hands would have been shaken, more beers bought and there wouldn’t have been a second thought given about the incidents, unless it was brought up years later as an after-dinner thought.
But the Cricket Australia issued its own damming statement: “Warner has been reported for breaching ‘Rule 6: Unbecoming Behaviour…Team management have stood down Warner pending the outcome of a hearing.”
If you’re going to be labelled a 21st century professional cricketer, then I’m afraid you’re going to have to behave a lot better than that David. In certain industries Warner would be described as having ‘previous’.
Whether his prior offences influenced his dropping for the Kiwi game that was abandoned is a moot point. (Does a lot of money affect a young sport star’s behaviour? Discuss).
As recently as January this year during the ODI versus Sri Lanka at the SCG he received an official reprimand after pleading guilty to a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.
It stemmed from him standing his ground after being given out lbw, before eventually leaving but shaking his head.
The fact he may have been hard done by as replays showed he had got an inside edge to a Thisara Perera delivery before striking his pad made no difference: he was charged with breaching Article 2.1.3 relating to “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”.
He was also fined the maximum possible for breaching rule 6 ($5,570) after a Twitter spat with journalists in May, accusing them of talking “sh*t”.
Conn, who had obliquely questioned the integrity of certain aspects of the IPL in the wake of the spot fixing scandal that threatens to engulf the tournament – or at least its reputation overseas – was met with a furious response from Warner.
Conn then tweeted back witheringly “You lose 4-0 in India, don’t make a run, and you want to be tickled on the tummy? Win the Ashes and get back to me.”
For Warner it was unedifying as it was avoidable. As much as twitter is lauded as a vital tool in the social media cannon, the fact is unless you’re as erudite as @eddiecowan or as pithy as a Ritchie Benaud parody account, perhaps it is best to leave the social networking until you’ve finishing playing – or at the very least delay sending a response until you’re less irate.
Incidentally his fine is nowhere near the largest for a Twitter indiscretion.
Ex-Arsenal footballer Ashley Cole was fined two weeks wages last season – approx. £260,000 – for calling the Football Association “tw*ts”. Just out of interest can anyone find an example which tops that amount?
Taken individually they are issues that could happen to anyone over the course of a modern career.
Collectively they are more damming, especially if you add the list to the fact that he failed to score in the India and Windies ICC warm up games, and has only managed double figures in one of his last seven innings, along with unremarkable form in the IPL, not to mention a stodgy nine off 21 balls prior to his night in the Walkabout.
You could argue a tipping point could be reached sooner rather than later.
In cricketing terms a day of reckoning could be overdue, certainly when you consider that he is one of five openers in the squad.
Yet, more importantly, in a country where violent crimes fuelled by alcohol are on the rise, a sportsman in the public eye, who has just committed an alcohol-influenced attack that must be labelled at the very least as unduly aggressive, at worst violent and reprehensible, surely cannot expect much leniency.
There are already reverberations of Andrew Symonds being sent home from the World T20 tournament in England in 2009, not to mention Punter’s infamous night out in the ‘Cross many moons ago.
The difference being Ricky Ponting quickly learnt from that error and worked his socks off to deservedly reside where the great men live in cricket.
The simple answer is for Warner to keep his head down, score runs and show more self-restraint off the pitch. Which is what the legendary Ponting did.
But will Warner do the same? Does he need to admit to a drinking problem, or at least anger management issues, or is it simply a case of curbing his booze intake that regrettably fires an excitable temperament?
Just how Warner (and Cricket Australia) react to this latest charge is just another subplot in this increasingly pressurised summer, however.
More to the point, will the newest problem to hit the malfunctioning Australian cricket team cause them to pull together more, or will we see resultant discipline subside again, fresh on the heels of “homeworkgate”, to reveal large fissures in the squad, weeks before the commencement of the biggest prize of all?
To cap it all before the game at Edgbaston last Saturday in which Australia lost by 48 runs, a message appeared on the big screen from the injured Michael Clark.
It read “Please remember to drink within your boundaries.”
As Tolstoy wrote in Anna Karenina: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Lancey5times
Guest
Awesome
Anoop
Guest
nice article layth, this underlines a huge number of issues facing cricket and its administration. As things are, when a team is playing well and winning the board presidents can revel in their glory and escape all attention...which is what happened to australia thanks to the generations of legendary cricketers that have come through the system, now the system is failing, it stopped looking to improve in the golden years, Sutherland's predecessors were too happy taking in the glory...i have read a few informed journalists and ex players debating the aussie cricket system, most notable of them Ian Chappell...well...the problem is Warner needs to be managed well and its Cricket Australia responsibility...if a player does well, they get the money and get one step closer in taking cricket to be australia's number one sport...Sutherland is a not a headmaster at a school, nor is Mickey Arthur the Physical education teacher...Move on boys...you are in the 2000's , if you spout management shit...learn how to deal with things in the 21st century in 'professional sport'....Mickey unfortunately is not the right coach for Australia...
MervUK
Guest
I usually like to have cereal first Rick, it keeps me regular
MervUK
Guest
My favourite post ever... Bravo darcytrainor
davos44
Guest
Spot on Fonzie...Warner would have no case to answer in a legal sense ...it was all over in a few secs apologies were made and drinks were bought . The police werent even called and the said victim has made no complaint. Maybe they could pass a new law and outlaw boorish behavior. I liken whats going on in our media with the constant need to feed the beast of the 24 hr news cycle...with the old analogy of the frog being slowly heated in a pot of boiling water ....we haven't noticed how shrill and gullible we have become ...constantly fed sensationalist tabloid crap from the likes of Murdoch's news limited and commercial TV etc etc ...they will do anything to invade a persons privacy and as history has proven they will cross any line even clearly breaking the law to give the clamouring masses want they want ie more sensationalist tripe , making massive fortunes along the way...and every one is so quick to take the moral high ground and judge what are essentially young people growing up and finding their way...grub journalists don't mind using a guy like warners photo to headline a match fixing article ( they freely admit there was no inference he was involved in match fixing ) But there was his photo front row centre on the said article....and then when he niavely and stupidly has a go back they use the media beast they work for to kick the sh*t out of him ...weak kneed officials fawn and supplicate themselves before these grubs ...shaking in their boots at any adverse publicity ....I believe the whole thing is out of control and also the concentration of media ownership in this country and the uk is the no 1 issue facing our country today....the power of the few media moguls is breathtaking ...they tell every one how and what to think and make and break govts of the day n the process...there is a great show on pay tv hbo called the News Room season 2 coming up delivers a very clear insight into what is really going on...Warner is a marked man he would do well to realize this and pull his head right in.....clearly the rules have changed any one with any even minor celebrity better not make a mistake in public or behind closed doors for that matter...the media beast is gonna hunt you down
Rick Piper
Guest
You mungrels! Get Rogers in there (making TONNES in county) Cowan is solid and can stick around Warner will be out within first 3 overs......slips will sledge him and he will fall to pieces Fat, rosy cheeked poms sitting around eating english breakfasts with no fibre (egg, ham, bread, tomato), despite the fact they havent had a bowel movement in a week....keep filling up boys!
Aakash bhat
Guest
I think we must use the practice matches before ashes to full use. players who perform well in those games should be picked up instead of those who perform poorly.so i think our batting line up should b decided only after the practice games and if warner performs well then he must be picked for the ist test.All these things that has happened with warner may give him some extra motivation to perform well.....
david kenny
Roar Rookie
maybe NSW skipper Gallen and Warner should both be up for gongs for services to street brawling...
darcytrainor
Roar Rookie
You break the rules, you face the consequences. Different rules to previous yes and whether they are too strict is debatable but Warner should respect the baggy green more than a pint of beer. Hoping he can come back better though. Freakish player and that innings against India at the WACA was one of the best I've seen.
Will
Guest
Clearly, reading between the lines, Warner isn't going to be part of the Ashes. I would have thought most people would have thought that, even before this latest incident happened. I think it is probably excessive to send him home, especially as it has since come out that it really was quite a minor incident. Warner is out of form at the moment, very easy now to let him drift away from the team and get his head right over the summer in Australia. Rogers and Watson looks good to we with perhaps Cowan at 3? Either way, our Ashes prospects go up with Warner not in the team.
Pete B
Guest
We're not going to win this Ashes are we!? No matter how you try and slice and dice the squad it just don't work. Our pace bowling at it's best could match England's. But not our batting, nor our spin. Some gritty knocks against the odds allied with some rain may get us out of a few scrapes. Watto has been a constant disappointment in recent times but if he exploits his all round qualities like he theoretically can, maybe we'll surprise with a victory or two.
James
Guest
ahahahahahahahaha at what ca gave warner as punishment. he misses every game up until the ashes. so he misses games he doesnt care about that will have no affect on australia. thats kinda pathetic.
Aakash bhat
Guest
Warner escaped somewhat easily!
Dcnz
Guest
Hold on the story coming out is that Warner thought Roots fake beard was offensive to Amla and he took a swing? God he really is dumb as a plank.
Arthur Fonzarelli
Guest
Imagine if the Boon / Walters / Marsh marathon can-drinking efforts happened in 2013. They would be fined , sacked, and humiliated in social media. Have societal values really changed that much ? Or is the media just so much more savage these days in conjunction with knee-jerk corporate managment of professional sports. Maybe if Warner is guilty of assault, he should just be charged and processed through the legal system, and treated like a normal citizen ? Maybe James Tamou should receive the same treatment ?
TheGenuineTailender
Roar Guru
Warner's punishment has just been confirmed as a suspension up until the start of the first Ashes test. Either they're afraid they might need him or they know he'll be under prepared for the first test. Hopefully they acknowledge its the latter and he doesn't play. It simplifies selection too. Rogers, Cowan, Hughes, Watson, Clarke, Khawaja/Haddin seems the likely batting line-up then come the first test.
davos44
Guest
Totally agree camel ...I bet this sort of thing has happened many times on tours past and nothing more was ever mentioned about it....and I would also excuse warners behavior in regard to Murdochs Stooge /Hack Journos...who used a picture of him against a match fixing article (there was no suggestion of him being involved with match fixing ...but hey we'll just use his picture to headline the article anyway)...if that's not grub journalism what Is? They obviously did it on purpose knowing they would more than likely get a bite .....Warner needs to grow up and not give these grubs any ammunition...they just sat back and used the might of the foxsports /Daily smellygraph /herald sun empire etc.... and gave him a right kicking Also doesn't bother me that he tried to put one on a smart arse pom ... At least he is showing a bit of fight ....I am a bit disturbed about them all being out on the piss at 2 am.....and sure it is time he pulled his head in and scored some runs....but I agree lets get off his back ....I'm not sure he is the answer for Australia in the test arena...but his attacking brilliance has turned games before and hopefuly will again....I haven't given up on him
Chairman Kaga
Guest
Warner needs to leave. Also he is not exactly test match standard as a player. They worked him out long ago, just an axe murderer/slogger. He has a great eye for the ball, but a crap technique. It's over Warner.
Jimmy
Guest
Camel and RSB, you got it right. Fair dinkum, the bloke had a few beers (as we all do) and took a swipe at a pommy cricketer (which we all want to do)....next year's Honours list for Warner I reckon.
James
Guest
warne doesnt slate anyone, did you read his report card in the guardian after the most recent ashes series, he gave all the aussies at least 6/10 with most getting 7s and 8s.