David Warner saw the lighter side of his dismissal on Sunday, when he sent a delivery from Tim Bresnan to deep square leg. The man who swallowed the catch was Joe Root, the same man who Warner tried to punch in a Birmingham bar during the Champions Trophy, an incident that cost Warner his place in the side for the first two Tests.
"Hooked another one to Rooty," Warner said. "Of all the people in the field ... it's quite comical now. I can't wait to read Twitter a bit later."
Warner has revelled in his role as pantomime villain during this series, his suspension having cast him as a natural for the England fans to boo whenever he walks to the wicket or chases a ball in the deep. He didn't add to his reputation with the fans by asking for a review in Australia's first innings when he clearly edged behind. But it's all a bit of a laugh to Warner.
"I'm not well liked at the moment but this morning was actually quite entertaining down there on the boundary," Warner said. "I actually liked the trumpeter playing the Rocky theme song [when he went out to bat], it was actually entertaining. I had a little chuckle. It's not every day you walk out on the field and you get booed. You've just got to embrace it, know what your job is ahead of you, and that's all I can concentrate on."
For Australia's second innings, that role was to open the batting with Chris Rogers, a curious decision given the naturally attacking method of the incumbent opener Shane Watson. Warner made 41 from 57 deliveries before he sent the catch to Root and, while he expects to remain at No. 6 in the immediate future, he said it was pleasing to have another chance at the top.
"I was told before we went out there I'd be opening just to try and get the run rate going, get us into a position where we could maybe declare early," Warner said. "I would have liked a bit more of a hurry on, and we could have bowled tonight. I love opening the batting, that's where I started my career. I'm just enjoying being back in the team. All my misdemeanours are behind me at the moment and I'm just happy to be playing cricket."
| David Warner's press conference | |
As it happened, the Australians did not get a chance to declare early, in part due to the rain and bad light and partially due to their lead not growing as quickly as they would have hoped. Warner said he had noticed the England players taking their time out on the field, reluctant to move the game too quickly, and he was confident the ICC would step in if any excessive time-wasting had occurred.
"We expected that. We knew the bowlers were going to take their time," he said. "The one they were going to review off me was a massive time-waster because they walked into a circle and said 'let's just hold back a little bit', and Broady, as well, walking from fine leg to mid-off. He took his time.
"You've just got to get into your own rhythm. You've got to keep yourself occupied out there. Me and Ussie were talking about what we were going to have for dinner tonight. You've got to try and take your mind off it and just do what you can when the bowler comes into bowl.
"The captain suffers from that [if the over rate is too slow]. He can miss a game if he's time-wasting and the overs aren't bowled in the time allocated. That will come back to bite them on the bum."
Warner laughs at Root repeat
This article
Warner laughs at Root repeat
can be opened in url
http://naturalherbmedic.blogspot.com/2013/08/warner-laughs-at-root-repeat.html
Warner laughs at Root repeat
