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INTERVIEW David Warner

>photographyGETTYIMAGES

DAVID WARNERS

reputation has never

had anything to do with

technique. Switch on the

Twenty20 action on the

telly, watch him blaze a

ew sixes, batter-bing,

batter-boom, job done.

Technical? Warner? Come on! And what about

analytical? Forget it!

And those boys and girls who ood through

the gates in the hope that, this night, Warner

might just unleash, well they couldnt care less

about technique. Nor are they interested in whatWarners thinking; they just wanna see how ar he

can whack it.

But things changed in October when, at the

T20 Champions League in India, David Andrew

Warner became so good at whacking them, that

suddenly, he was being talked about as a Test

player.

On the surace, it made little sense. This guy

was switching his grip and his stance, batting at a

strike rate o around 200 and generally being the

most entertaining six-hitter since Gilly graced the

game. Thats not Test cricket, right?

O course he can hit monster sixes, bat l

and right handed, all o that, but that can giv

people the wrong idea, Brett Lee tells Insid

Cricket, having watched his state team-mate

development rom close by. Hes been una

categorised as a T20 player, although I think

people are starting to see the light now. Ive

a lot o him and Im convinced there will be a

very soon, when hes a Test batsman. Id pro

have him in the team now, somewhere in the

six. He will play Test cricket or Australia.

Its a giant leap rom T20 basher to being

considered by a man with 310 Test wickets g

enough to wear a baggy green, but the act iWarner is much, much more than Australias

own sultan o swat. The guy isa thinker. A s

technician. A student o his own game. On th

intricacies o wrist position, the importance o

balance and ootwork and how all these act

aect the way he makes contact with the ba

Just ask him. He could talk underwater on th

subject and while it is ar less exciting than

watching him do his thing in the middle, its

makes the man.

Hes no slogger, believe me. Hes a serious

serious player, Lee continues. Potentially, he

Master o the

universe DaviWarner is now

setting his sigon becoming

orce in the lo

orms o the

game. He talk

Adam Burnetthrill

DECEMBER 2011

of the

King

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getting into the frst Shield side o the season, at

the end o the day my goal had been to play or

Australia, and that was what Id done. Id taken a

lot rom that.

The mountain o Second XI runs pushed

Warner urther under the selectors noses, to

a point where they could no longer ignore his

claims or a Shield start. The let-hander knew

what had to happen next, and so, When I got my

opportunity in the Shield, I just grabbed it.

I knew I had it in me, that frst game when we

played the Vics, but lack o pace rom MichaelHill got me [or 99]. I was disappointed about that

because Id grinded it out or a good our hours

and Id aced 180 balls, which is a lot o balls

that I wouldnt usually ace, because I hadnt had

that much time in the middle well I hadnt given

mysel that much time in the middle previously.

That was a good experience or me, and the

next game I elt real good in the frst innings and I

said to mysel, Look, i you knuckle down, youre

going to score yoursel your maiden ton. It was

there in ront o me and I took it.

Against Western Australia at the SCG, Warner

made 114 in the frst innings, and the man who

had starred on his T20 debut or Australia beore

even making his frst-class debut had taken one

giant leap towards becoming what Lee describes

as that serious, serious player.

National selectors recognised the seismic shit

the New South Welshman had made. Perhaps,

much like Warner himsel, they had been waiting

or the breakthrough innings that proved Warners

technique was as impressive as his big hitting,

because ater a handul o frst-class matches

and that lone hundred, he was picked or the

Australia A tour o Zimbabwe.It was the second crucial period in his recent

development.

I ailed in the frst couple o one-dayers, but

I just knew I had it in me to say, Alright, lets go

at this aggressive, play your shots, and lets take

some calculated risks, he recounts o the tour.

I scored a hundred in the [one-day] fnal and I

was very happy with mysel, and that was good

preparation leading into the our-day games.

Then I had a practice game where I scored

150, and I went into the frst our-day game

against them and made 48 and 82, and elt real

good; the second innings o that we were only

Hes no slogger. Hes aserious, serious player. Id

probably have him in the Test teamnow. He can do exactly the samekind of damage that Sehwag doesBRETT LEE

Switching it up

with a reverse slogagainst Sri Lanka

another Virender Sehwag. And I dont mean that

he can be a bit o a Sehwag. Im saying he can do

exactly the same kind o damage that Sehwag does.

Some o the innings Ive seen him play in

50-over games have been technically excellent.

Watch him hit an on-drive, its perect. He can

put his head down when he has to. Hes a tough

bugger. People see him take on a ast bowler and

hit him out o the stand and think, Wow, what a

T20 player! Thats all they remember, but theres

more to him. Hell be getting a Test cap sooner

or later.

The experts, Ian Chappell oremost among

hem, have also identifed traits in the let-

handers batting suited to the fve-day game.

Warner, Chappell wrote or Cricino, has matured

nto a highly skilul player who must be given

serious consideration or Australian selection in

all orms o the game. His balance as a batsman

s such that he has been able to adapt his play to

all circumstances, and his stroke range is mostly

raditional and now becoming more selective.

The man himsel identifes a couple o periods

n the past 14 months or so that were key to hisgrowth as a batsman. Times that helped him

become ully aware o his potential to excel in all

orms o the game, despite a lack o opportunity

n the Shefeld Shield. Not that confdence had

ever been a serious issue or him to contend

with; the 25-year-old has always backed his own

ability. First up came his response to missing

selection or NSW in their opening Shield match

o last season a string o hundreds, including a

double, or NSW Second XI.

I knew that the best way to break the ice was

o score runs, Warner says. Id been ortunate

enough to get picked in the Australian team the

previous summer so even though I missed out on

chasing 140 and I was really hungry to try and get

as many as I could.

The next game I really grinded it out I batted

or a day-and-a-hal [to make 211]. That was

exciting or me because I showed mysel that

I could do it. And I showed mysel what sort o

patience I needed to be out there that long.

The wicket was slow and the outfeld was

slow, but I knew what I had to do to press claims

or higher honours.

See, Warner gets it. Its no secret that batsmen

need to score runs, and then score more runs, tomake rep teams. But its less about the whatand

more about discovering the howthat catapulted

him into the Test squad when Ricky Ponting went

home rom Sri Lanka in September.

The experience I got [in Zimbabwe] taught

me a lot about batting time, Warner says. Greg

Chappell always says to me, The more time you

bat, the better youre going to play. Itll help you

in all orms o the game. Thats what it is doing

at the moment. Its put me in a dierent rame

o mind where I eel like, when Im out there, Im

getting mysel in and into a really good rhythm.

Previously, its not like I didnt know what I

Warner celehis maiden frst

century at the

earlier thi

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was doing out there, it was more like, How do

I go on with what Im doing? Instead o playing

a silly shot, now I can just respect the ball, and

leave the ball, and wait or the boundary ball.

Now Ive actually learnt that. People say that

could happen at 21, or it might not happen til

youre 30.

Ive never doubted mysel. I know Ive got a

technique thats very much my own and I know

that I can keep a structure that I can score runswith. I know that I throw my hands at the ball a

lot, especially in T20 cricket, but I know when

it comes to our-day and one-day stu , my

technique has to be a bit more compact. Your

eet have to move a lot more to the ball, you

cant just throw your hands at the ball because

its moving sideways so you have to respect

everything.

Ive taken that mentality into T20 cricket as

well now, where Im actually moving everything. I

just thought, Hang on, why dont I do that in T20

cricket, and then everything will ow perect?

Now, its actually working Im in a good rame

o mind where batting time, as Greg Chappellsays, has actually helped me in the shorter orm

as well.

And how. Its no exaggeration to say that

Warners eorts in the Champions League T20 in

October shocked the cricket world. His incredible

135 not out rom 69 balls against Chennai

(22 o the runs came while switch hitting as a

right-hander) eatured eight sixes and put NSW

through to the semi-fnals. More remarkable

though, was what came next; the stocky opener

became the frst player in T20s brie history to

score back-to-back hundreds, this time blazing

Bangalores bowlers to all parts or an unbeaten

123 rom 68, with 11 sixes.While it was his our-day eats in Zimbabwe

that impressed selectors, the rest o Australia

media and supporters alike were captivated by

those two special Champions League innings. For

the frst time, a batsmans deeds in the shortest

orm led directly to a groundswell o support or

him to be slotted straight into the Test side.

Its an exciting summer coming up or me,

he says. I I can keep scoring runs, who knows

what might be in ront o me? People are talking

about other players being not in orm, or possibly

retiring, but in your own mind you just have to be

patient. Youre in a queue basically youve got

extremely talented batsmen and theyre scoringruns. All you can control is what you can control.

So you go out there, score runs, do what you have

to do and then when your opportunity arises, you

have to take it. Thats how cricket is.

THE CHampions Legue T20 octber receved lttle ed ttet

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The tw g he lyed were

reve g yu c ever

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tlet. Shane Watson.

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t Wrer clerg h rght leg d

bebll lggg t rud the grud

He gt t the tch the bll d

lyed cr, eectve but eetlly

rthdx ht. Tom Moody.

72 hours of mayhemi the ce three dy octber, Wrer rewrte

the Twety20 recrd bk wth cecutve hudred

34 DECEMBER 2011 facebook.com/InsideCricke