David Warner said the incident in Birmingham’s Walkabout bar ‘changed him’ not only as a cricketer but as a person © Cricket Australia/Getty Images
David Warner admits the incident in which he punched Joe Root in a Birmingham bar four years ago was “pivotal” to his development as a cricketer and a man.
Warner, the Australia vice-captain, was fined and suspended after the incident during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, following England’s defeat of Australia. But now, four years to the day since the event and back in Birmingham to play England in a must-win Champions Trophy fixture on Saturday, he reflected on the episode as a key learning experience in a career that has risen to new levels in recent times.
“It was a learning curve for myself,” Warner said. “I was young and now I’m old. I’ve two kids and I’m married. There’s a lot of settling down there.
“It definitely was [pivotal] to me becoming the person I am today; not just the cricketer. We all go through periods when we’re young and naïve. It’s not about stuffing up and moving on, it’s about learning the ropes of being away on tour for such a long period of time. There are things you have to think about as a youngster: what you can or can’t I do.
“I probably didn’t work that out at that stage. But now I have and I have a great balance on and off the field.”
A fan’s t-shirt references the David Warner-Joe Root incident from 2013 © Getty Images
There’s little disputing that Warner is a more consistent player. As well as being rated No. 2 in the ODI batting rankings – he recently became the third-fastest man in history to 4000 ODI runs – Warner finished the recent IPL season as the top run-scorer and is placed at No. 7 in the ICC’s Test batting rankings. Such is his growing maturity, he has been promoted to vice-captain of the Australia side, been a eloquent critic of Cricket Australia’s plans to abandon the revenue-sharing model and earned the nickname ‘Rev’ – short for The Reverend David Warner – by colleagues who have marvelled at his change in behaviour since he gave up alcohol a couple of years ago. He used to be nicknamed ‘Bull’ for pretty obvious reasons.
“The bull can still come out here and there,” he admitted. “It just depends on what day you get me. Most of the time, I’m probably the reverend – as they say – but look, it’s about winning games for Australia and being the best person I can around the team and around people outside cricket.”
While Warner said he would be happy to revisit the Walkabout bar where the incident happened and shake Root’s hand, he did hint that he felt his side of the incident wasn’t fully recognised. There was a suggestion at the time that Warner felt Root, who was playing with a wig, was mocking South Africa’s Muslim batsman Hashim Amla. It is a suggestion strongly denied by Root and his colleagues, who insist Root was making fun of himself, his infamously youthful complexion and his inability to grow facial hair.
“People didn’t look too far or deep into it to see who was in the right or wrong,” Warner said. “But that’s all gone, it’s in the past and we can tell a happily ever after story at the end of my career.
“If they [at Walkabout] give me a couple of free drinks, some diet cokes, and the rest of the boys they can shout them a table. And if I see Joe I’ll give him a handshake.”
George Dobell is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo