How does one evaluate a David Warner masterpiece? Do you look at the plain facts, data, and statistics? Or do you assess it in terms of impact? He’s had a raw influence on cricket games, cricket teams, and cricket spectators for well over a decade now.
In many respects, and especially on that premise, his 211-ball 164 at Perth Stadium on an unusual ground was the ideal embodiment of the paradox that he’s always left us with. I’m not sure how to position or comprehend one of his many great innings in the context of where he’s done it and who he’s done it against.
Like he did at what may have been the first gig of his farewell tour. Did he start with one of his biggest hits? Most likely not. His inning on Thursday (December 14) is unlikely to rank particularly high in his hitting resume. The only justification for this is that it came against an inexperienced Pakistan bowling unit that looked feeble for much of the day and didn’t make the most of the aid provided by the Perth pitch.
But that is the allure of Warner. What makes him exceptional is that he was able to score at the rate he did and make the score he did while everyone else, with the exception of Travis Head, never seemed entirely relaxed in the crease. What distinguishes him as a once-in-a-generation talent. What distinguishes him as a cricketer who will never be replaced. Of course, Australia will go on to find another opener to fill the void created by the 37-year-old’s departure. They will, however, never find another David Warner. Because there will never be another like him. And like a number of his teammates have said in recent times, it’s probably only once he is no longer around donning the Baggy Green that Australian cricket, along with the rest of the country, will really realise his insatiable value.
But, yet again. What stands out more. The statistics or the effect. On Thursday, Warner scored his 26th Test ton, the 49th across all formats which puts him only second behind Ricky Ponting, and also climbed into the top-five all-time run-getters for Australia in Tests. The thing with Warner though is that these are incredible numbers that he’s achieved in spite of batting the way he has rather than because of it. Like him or not for how he has been on and off the field, you can’t deny that It’s always been team first for Warner once he’s walked past those ropes. It’s definitely the case when he’s running and diving around like a tiger across the outfield. And more so when he has a bat in hand.
Here was a tricky surface on the first morning of a Test summer with his selection for the rest of the series still not a certainty. All Warner was thinking about was, like he has throughout his career, somehow trying to take the fight to the Pakistani fast bowlers and not let them get on top of the Australians. There was movement in the air and off the pitch for most parts of the day. But in the first session in particular, the visitors just couldn’t make the most of it. Mainly because Warner was at them. Whether it was in the way he was batting out of his crease, or the way he was at times walking at the seamers or even the risks he was prepared to take, all so that Pakistan don’t get anywhere near getting the upper-hand. This was classic Warner. Not just in the way he was approaching his innings but the reasons why he was doing so. Take the shot he played off Shaheen Shah Afridi in the second hour of the day’s play. Getting down on one knee and scooping him from a nearly prone position for six. Here he was making a statement against the premier fast bowler in the Pakistan camp.
Warner is always making statements though. Before the game, post the game and definitely during the game. His century and the celebration that followed was if anything more a reminder of why we should indulge and soak in whatever is left of Warner the Test batter for the next few weeks. Farewells can wait. He was also making a statement on Thursday that the pitch at the Perth Stadium was a whole lot easier to bat on than it actually was. But that’s what Warner does though. That’s what Warner has always done. And like he has throughout his career, the numbers he racks up will wow us, but it’s his inimitable impact that will remain as his greatest legacy.
