David Warner has cut back on the cantankerous stuff but Australia’s new vice-captain won’t change his character.
Warner’s strides on and off the field were recognised on Friday, when Cricket Australia’s nine-person board confirmed the appointments of new captain Steve Smith and his deputy.
The NSW batsmen will lead both the Test and ODI sides, with Aaron Finch retaining the Twenty20 captaincy.
Warner has a lengthy rap sheet.
The pugnacious opener was banished for two Ashes Tests in 2013 after a bar-room stoush with Joe Root.
Earlier this year he was publicly admonished by CA boss James Sutherland after a run-in with India batsman Rohit Sharma at the MCG.
Warner had demanded Sharma “speak English” in a heated confrontation during an ODI at the MCG.
The 28-year-old noted he has kept on the straight and narrow since and vowed that would continue.
“Now with a bit more responsibility I’ll be trying to help Steve as much as I can. You’re going to see a lot more work put in on the field,” he said.
“It’s not about sledging. It’s about encouraging your bowlers and getting into the mind of the batters.
“We just have to be smart when we’re out there.”
Warner has been far more settled since meeting then marrying former ironwoman Candice Falzon and becoming a father.
However, he remains just as jaunty – more than happy to wind up teammates and opponents.
Take for example the first Ashes Test, when Warner tried to stop Ben Stokes from completing his superstitious ritual of sweeping his bat in an arc along the popping crease.
“In our team sometimes we are serious, sometimes we do joke around a lot,” he said.
“Each team needs a few characters and I see myself as being that character sometimes and I will probably try and continue to be that funny person.”
Warner is yet to speak with Sutherland, the chief executive who warned him to “stop looking for trouble” after the stand-off with Sharma.
“He’s our boss and I have to respect what he says,” Warner said.
“But the board obviously approved me being vice-captain and I thank them for their support, trust and faith.
“The past 12 to 18 months I’ve shown how much I’ve matured.”
Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh suggested Warner had come a long way as a batsman and a leader.
“David has matured and developed into an important senior figure in the Australian team,” Marsh said.
“He had valuable experience captaining the Sunrisers in the IPL earlier this year and we are confident he will provide strong support to Steve.
“We believe that he will respond well to the added responsibility of leadership.”
Smith was always going to replace outgoing skipper Michael Clarke, who will retire after the fifth Ashes Test that starts on Thursday.
The 26-year-old had already become the country’s 45th Test captain last summer, when Clarke missed three Tests due to hamstring surgery.
“He has big shoes to fill but everything about him suggests he is the right man for the job,” Marsh said.
“He should be incredibly proud.”
hopalong
Guest
Please no.they dot not epitomise Oz sportsmen. They are the face of the "ugly"Australian.
Dean
Guest
Davy - what a character!
Don Freo
Guest
What is "park cricket"?
Whiteline
Guest
Don, go back to park cricket champ.
ajay
Guest
well i thought james faulkner??,was tasmania u17 ,u19 skipper ! and he is lock in odi side warner is even avz than finch in odi i personally believe faulkner was better choice than warner atleast for odis and rod marsh mentioned after wc that we have some plans for tasmanian ! i was thinking he is next vc. love his fiery attitude !
JoM
Roar Rookie
They were unhappy with him in England last series after his little escapade. Before the WI series I think it was, he did an interview where he said that he wasn't going to be the attack dog anymore and the implication was that he had been instructed to do so by Lehmann and Clarke. He also said he had distanced himself from the team. I do know that there were quite a few of them that weren't happy that he hadn't told them any of this before he did the interview. I was talking to someone at preseason on the weekend and he said that Warner wouldn't be happy with being No 2 for very long.
JoM
Roar Rookie
I don't think he wants to either to be honest, that was Harris' job and unfortunately we haven't had a leader in this series.
Blades
Guest
Was not happy with Smith declaring against Northamptonshire. Cummins was 18 runs away from a maiden first class century...
The Bush
Roar Guru
Johnson can't even lead the bowling attack, how he is going to lead an entire team?
Big Steve
Guest
Johnson has performance issues when he becomes the bowling leader. think he might struggle even more leading the whole team. Some people are not leaders and Johnson seems to be one of them. Nothing against mitch but don't think he would like to be vc.
Jameswm
Guest
You really think that's how Warner bats?
Don Freo
Guest
I meant "affirmation".
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Good comment!
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I always find it interesting that people make comments about players popularity within the team when they aren't themselves in the team or mixing in those circles and there's never anything coming out of the team that actually suggests anything to the sort. Like with Clarke. All the comments about there being issues caused by Clarke are from players who retired well before him being captain and who've pretty much shown themselves to be bogans, and thus probably just had an issue with him not being bogan enough. Players who've actually played under Clarke generally have come out very positive about him. As for Warner, I've never heard anyone in the Australian cricket team make any comment to suggest that he's unpopular with team mates. I doubt he's anymore unpopular than pranksters of the past like McGrath and Merv Hughes.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
There's also got to be the question of whether Johnson is able to keep his place in the team for much longer. With all the calls saying Johnson and Starc can't play together, that doesn't look too good for Johnson as he's been significantly out-bowled by Starc since they've been back in the team together. And Lyon's position is also a tough one. The selectors seem to almost look at him as the guy just holding the position until someone really good comes along and keep hoping for one of these young spinners to come good and force their hand.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I'm assuming he meant "a positive opinion".
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
They obviously can't select someone as vice-captain who's not currently in the team. And there aren't a lot of great options to go with. The VC though could easily be selected on a squad by squad basis initially. They need to select a VC for the ODI tournament, and could easily pick someone like Bailey or Wade to be that person, and then make a selection of VC for the tour to Bangladesh when the squad is announced. But to select someone who's either a rookie in the team or only played a few matches and not for a few years, like Khawaja, would be a really tough call, you want someone like that, if selected, to initially be able to just come in and focus on just playing cricket and scoring runs, and not have to pick up VC duties also. Considering the complete lack of experience that's likely to be in the team going forward, there wasn't really a lot of other options.
Bobbo7
Guest
Not sure Warner is the answer. But he might surprise
Birdy
Guest
In fairness to JimmyB, it took me a while to work out what you meant, mate. I had to ignore the bit were you seem to criticise me for never offering an opinion, and guess that the 'affirmation' bit was what you were actually on about. Did I get it right? I also couldn't work out why you seemed a bit peeved. You seem to think Warner is an entirely appropriate appointment, and so do I.
Don Freo
Guest
Birdy had no problem with it Jimmy. An English tutor could help you.