Australian opener David Warner was involved in a couple of ugly incidents in the first Test against South Africa, which have once again called into question his temperament and behaviour.
In the court of public opinion, he’s already been found guilty, yet one needs to ask, is the ruling fair?
Now, I’m no lawyer, but I enjoyed watching The Practice when I was a kid, and A Few Good Men is one of my favourite movies, so I think that’s more than enough to qualify me for having a strong opinion on any legal matters, let alone ones of the trivial, ‘public opinion’ variety.
Yesterday, ESPNCricinfo published an article that outlined all of the unsavoury incidents that Warner has been involved in over the years.
It warrants a spirited defence of his honour, even though I know it will be an almost impossible and thankless task. Yet, such are the hardships of being the Australian cricket team’s defence lawyer.
March 2018: Heated exchange with Quinton de Kock
If the whispers are true that de Kock brought Warner’s wife into the conversation, then I have to say that Davey’s reaction was actually quite mild. My reaction would be much the same if someone made a nasty comment about my wife, and I can’t imagine the South African wicketkeeper’s comment was as innocuous or innocent as “She’s a world-class ironwoman”.
The retort here is that Warner often crosses the line of what’s personal himself, so he can’t be sensitive when it comes back his way. That’s fair, but do we have proof Warner has ‘crossed the line’ into family?
To be honest, it’s all becomes a bit subjective. It’s often said that the problem with sledging is that what’s acceptable in one culture is not in another. Aussie cricketers think family is out of bounds, but have no issue dropping a c-bomb or talking about physical appearance.
This incident was unsavoury, but understandable, and somewhat excusable. You should defend your wife’s honour, Your Honour.
South Africa’s Quinton de Kock (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
October 2017: The Ashes “war” and finding the “hatred” within
Please. In this instance, he’s guilty of hyperbole, exaggeration and some poor choice of words. Nothing more, nothing less.
Warner is certainly never going to be guilty of being a wordsmith, but if gamesmanship and pre-Ashes banter is a crime, then the cricket prison is going to be awfully crowded.
Januray 2015: “Speak English” to Rohit Sharma
I actually remember watching this live, and cringing at the sight of Warner yelling at Sharma to speak in Warner’s home dialect. It’s the type of comment ignorant Aussies hurl at people from non-English speaking countries, so it wasn’t a pleasant episode.
However, it was revealed that Warner was actually being sledged in Hindi, and simply wanted to know what he was being sledged about, because he only speaks fluent ‘Strayan. It’s a fair request, actually.
AAP Image/David Crosling
December 2014: “Come on” to Varun Aaron
Warner was dismissed by the Indian seam bowler, who gave him a little bit of a send-off. Only issue is that the delivery was called a no-ball, and Warner was called back to the wicket. On the way back, he mimicked Aaron’s “Come on”, yelling it back at him.
All power to him, I say.
February 2014: Illegal – and unfounded – reverse-swing accusations against AB de Villiers
This strange accusation was shot down by Warner’s own teammates. Um, yeah. Shall we just move on?
November 2013: “England batsmen had scared eyes”
Warner copped a lot of flak for saying the Poms didn’t look like they wanted to face Mitchell Johnson, so apparently now telling the (obvious) truth is a crime.
The crux of the issue came from the revelation that Jonathan Trott was facing some mental demons, but in all seriousness, how the hell was Warner to know that when he said Trott’s dismissals were “pretty poor and pretty weak”? If Trott’s struggles don’t become public knowledge, this is a complete non-story.
October 2013: An afternoon at the races
Oh c’mon, who among hasn’t “chucked a sickie”?
Warner missed a club game for Randwick-Petersham and went to the races instead. Do you know where Randwick Racecourse is? Have you seen Randwick Racecourse? I think Warner just went to the wrong ground. Easy mistake to make.
July 2013: Another South African keeper, another incident
This was put down as “friendly banter” from Warner himself, and no one is better placed to defend the person in question than the person in question, so clearly there is nothing to see here. Jog along, all.
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July 2013: The infamous Joe Root punch
Apparently, Warner was actually simply standing up for Hashim Amla, whom he thought Root was rudely impersonating. And we all know the strong bond Warner has with South African cricketers. Are we really going to hold him accountable for being an upstanding citizen, and punching someone?
Oh. We are? Oh.
May 2013: Twitter beef with Aussie journos
Warner didn’t take too kindly to his picture being placed alongside an article about corruption in the IPL. Considering the article wasn’t about him, you can understand his frustration and subsequent blow-up.
It did seem as if was an – ahem – ‘escape goat’…
February 2011: Twitter beef with Brett Geeves
I mean, who hasn’t had a Twitter beef with Geevesy? Even yours truly came into his sights when I called him a “rent-a-quote”. The list of people that have had disagreements with the ex-Tasmanian quick isn’t exactly an exclusive club, and I’m not sure it’s evidence to convict someone of very much.
To be honest, upon review, the above list of incidents isn’t that bad.
Warner is passionate, fiery, combative and competitive. While this has often got him in trouble, it also puts him in the same class of individual as Shane Warne, Ricky Ponting, Dennis Lillee, etc. From a contemporary point of view, you could describe Virat Kohli the same way. So Warner isn’t exactly in bad company.
Sure, the sheer amount of incidents here would suggest there is a problem, but he sure does make cricket more interesting, and he hasn’t done anything seriously wrong, Your Honour. Boys will be boys, right? Especially Aussie ones.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
It was a mere gentle (and relevant) ribbing, but be that as it may, my sincere apologies if you’re offended.
DavSA
Guest
Sorry in my own uneducated SA way should have said Ronan.
DavSA
Guest
I take you were referring to me Ryan so if you choose to insult at least allow me a response. "Nope" was absolutely right in correcting me re the stats and records. No problem....Cricket is not however played either on paper , nor do stats and records necessarily reflect a players attitude. I watch the game ..that's it and unless I am so ignorant and uneducated as to miss what I see ...Forgive me.I have watched the game a bit and see De Kock in the light of what I expressed. Maybe I am wrong . So what ? Does that warrant your kind of unnecessary response? In his first disciplinary hearing his track record of being a player never to have being called out was expressed. I have been posting here on The Roar for a few years now. Have come to appreciate the serious knowledge and insight of those such as your namesake Rowan. By the way did you bother to read the rest of my post where I criticized both De Kock and Warner . I am disappointed in your attitude. A more probing question would have been to ask me why I had that viewpoint .......That is called an educated response. So as you say apparantly in Australia ...G'day mate. Got that from a daft movie.
Mick
Guest
proof?
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Though it was written with tongue firmly placed in cheek, after seeing Warner’s eventual response, I think I’d like to take back the article, and many of the subsequent comments I made. I’d also like to announce my resignation as Davey’s defense lawyer. Thank you. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricket/outright-disgusting-warner-slams-south-african-for-wife-sledge-20180308-p4z3cc.html
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
Though it was written with tongue firmly placed in cheek, after seeing Warner’s eventual response, I think I’d like to take back the article, and many of the subsequent comments I made. I’d also like to announce my resignation as Davey’s defense lawyer. Thank you.
Loftus
Guest
Hahaha, funny how the Aussies on here are defending this Warner chap. All while everyone knows he is one of the biggest idiots in World Cricket.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Hi Ryan, nice article, You are a good man to front up and defend Dave. You inspired me to write a counterpoint last night - his real issue is that he is hopeless at Sledging, unsubtle, unfunny, ineffective and thin skinned. Enjoy the footy tonight!
Scorching
Guest
Even if that's true for Warner (which is questionable) it is only one player in a country of 25 million. Stop stereotyping and troublemaking.
Rats
Guest
We need sensible, proactive umpires.. the current set of umpires all look inattentive.
JohnB
Guest
Mind you, he'd played in 3 test series and one Rest of the World tour against Australia before that, so Australia can't have been too bad.
qwetzen
Guest
"De Kock’s retort was out of line still..." Care to share what he said?
qwetzen
Guest
Nope. The only players I can see who touch Warner have Oz shirts on. Try again.
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
I firmly believe - and have solid reasons why - that Hookes' comment was not racist. It was definitely sexist though, so its all a moot point if we're talking about it being unsavoury. It was. But I still struggle to see how it's relevant here. Do we being up every poor comment, in any context, from any year, to prove a point other entire teams/countries?
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
He's not real smart, our Davey eh? ... doesn't think it through, as you point out. The bloke's a mug all the way to, as Roger said on March 7th @ 1:38pm:
He is one sprained ankle or a busted thumb away from the captaincy - exercising the thoughtfulness, balanced temperament and pragmatism demanded of that role - and he has not yet worked out yet, at 30 years plus, that if you dish it out chances are you will cop some of the same for your corner. Poor li'l Davey.Alicesprings
Guest
Well then maybe David should stop inviting it then?? He’s well known for pushing the boundaries when it comes to sledging. If he doesn’t want his own dirty laundry aired he should shut his mouth and let his cricket do the talking.
Mick Gold Coast QLD
Roar Guru
I have always thought that :)
Red Kev
Roar Guru
"But Hookes said he didn’t mean it in that way." Come on Ryan, surely you're more intelligent than that.
Good Game
Guest
Speaking of Kiwi's, have you caught any of the ongoing ODI series with a very good English side? Wow. What a series!
Ryan O'Connell
Expert
But Hookes said he didn't mean it in that way. And yes, Hookes and Warne had a lot to do with Australian cricket. But if you're using that to illustrate a point about ALL Australian cricketers and their behaviour, it's the equivalent of using Hansie Cronje (who is also dead, and also has little to do with today's SA team) to call into question the character of the current South African team. Not really fair, is it? I haven't made this point clear in this piece, because I was making a different (tongue-in-cheek) point, but I also find the behaviour of the Australian cricket team embarrassing at times. But what I don't like is the constant inference that they always behave like this, that they're always the ones at fault, that it only happens in matches Australia are involved in. As mentioned before, I think a large part of this is Confirmation Bias, as opposed to reality. But where there is smoke, there is fire. Undeniably. You can't have all the incidents above - with Warner the common denominator - simply be coincidence. He needs to pull his head in, and when you earn a reputation, and then have incidents back that reputation up, you can't really complain (not that I've seen Warner officially complain either, mind you). Both Warner and Warne has been unsavoury, I don't deny it. But let's not pretend they represent the behaviour of an entire cricket team, let alone an entire country.