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With the third Test imminent, our last remaining hope of regaining the urn during the English summer may well rest with a man who has the ability to take the game away from opposition as quickly as he is able to divide opinion.
David Warner’s blatant disregard for the responsibilities associated with being an Australian cricketer have come to the fore recently thanks to his completely inappropriate behaviour.
The canvas on which a sporting star’s career and legacy is painted these days is very much in the spotlight for the media and the public.
The higher the profile, the greater the scrutiny and need for discretion and smart decision-making. It’s a cliché nowadays yes, but that’s how it simply is.
Did he forget what it means to wear the baggy green cap when he blew Robert Craddock up at 4am Indian time about what is, at the end of the day, just an opinion piece published in a newspaper.
That’s absolutely no discredit to the journalist or journalistic writing. The point is it’s just an opinion by someone who is paid to write his opinion.
It is the job of journalists “to do their job” and of course they serve an important purpose.
Let journalists say what they want within the confines of accepted protocols and defamation laws. Opinions are like the proverbial. We all have one. I have one right now.
Warner should have fired back and answered his critics with runs and showed us all that he deserves to be in the Australian team on merit. He’s had a lean run of it recently until his 193 for Australia A last week. Why hang yourself out to dry in the public eye?
Whatever his gripe with Craddock and Conn that sparked the Twitter rant, it didn’t need to be aired in public.
I’m sure these blokes are quite approachable and were prepared to hear what he had to say.
Warner was having a whinge about an issue that didn’t even involve him. Instead, there was a fall-out and he certainly didn’t do his cause any good.
Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse in our Ashes preparation, the whole ‘walkabout’ incident took place on the same day the English gave us a hiding.
The clear, full story hasn’t been made public but once again it seems Warner took offence to something that didn’t actually involve him.
It’s alleged that he threw a punch at another man. Never mind that he was an opposition player.
Last I heard on the news and in all media outlets, the Government was making it perfectly clear that any form of assault, premeditated or otherwise, had a zero tolerance policy.
The selection panel had no choice but to stand Warner down for an extended period to send a message that this behaviour is simply unacceptable.
David Warner allegedly attempted to assault a man and his punishment, as far as a lot of people were concerned, was to carry the drinks and miss a few games in the Champions Trophy and against county opposition.
I’m not saying he should have been punished more severely, just conscious of how bad it looked.
Surely sportspeople and celebrities have figured it out by now that if you put yourself in situations that have potential for negative outcomes, then there’s a good chance that trouble will find you.
For me, cricket, especially Test cricket, is and always will be about the battle.
The battle between bat and ball; the battle between concentration and a mistake after six hours at the crease; the battle between the chase for the last two wickets in the fading light.
Even the battle between keeping your spot and a public awaiting a fall from grace.
The best, even when flawed and distracted (read Shane Warne, Brian Lara, Viv Richards) were always fully involved in that battle, mentally and physically.
At the moment, Warner is having a tough time picking his. Just when it seemed like things were back on track and Warner was focused on the job at hand, there was another incident during the tour game in Africa.
Warner laughed it off as friendly banter though the accounts of what happened suggest it was a little more heated than that. Sledging is a part of the game. Squaring up to the opposition for a confrontation isn’t.
This may sound like a rant but it really isn’t. It’s just an impassioned plea to Dave Warner to remember what is associated with wearing that hallowed green cap in a changing world.
Freddie Flintoff wrote yesterday in the English tabloid The Sun that if Warner gets picked for the third Test, just let him be.
No need to sledge him because he will find his way to trouble again. What is that saying about how England view the entire situation and his character?
The poor form of our batting order has backed the selectors into a bit of a corner here as well. We wouldn’t be having this conversation about picking Warner had our batsmen performed in the first two games.
He’s one of our best players when on song though and is one of the first picked in all three forms of the game. His aggression is exactly what we need right now to put Jimmy Anderson off his game.
I don’t mind if he gets picked for the third Test, so long as he scores a million runs as we attempt the impossible from our dire position heading into the Old Trafford test.
Warner’s repost to me may be that his pride for the baggy green has always been his highest priority.
The thing is, that pride has to be exemplified off the field, not just on it.
Acts of assault or carrying on in a public forum are unfortunately not the conduct becoming of a sportsperson who represents Australia.
Not to mention all our governing bodies are so image conscious these days. And why is that?
Because of sponsors who bring money into our sports. I don’t like it, but it’s the way it is in 2013.
There’s a reason why the Australian cricket captaincy is revered as “the second most important job in the country”.
It carries a heavy weight for the man in the job. What he needs is the 10 players that he leads making things as easy as possible for him.
I hope Warner starts picking his battles correctly again and gets back to what he does best: dividing the opposition. Not dividing opinion.
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