David Warner: Why Australia's man of many personas bows out an ODI great

A version of this article was first published on 14 November, 2023.

More than most athletes, David Warner's public life has featured the man in a series of versions.

The early brawler, the reformed sage, the repeat offender, the penitent observer of silence, the strategist, the troublemaker, the king of the kids, the petulant self-justifier, the granular cricket analyst, the late-career paragon.

Some may have been more sincere than others, though there have at least been times when Warner has appeared to believe in them all.

Accordingly, he is received differently by locale.

In England, accentuate the negative: start by scoffing at his 95 runs in the 2019 Ashes, return to sandpaper if required. Some thoughtful and fair-minded people are genuine in their lasting deploration of his ball-tampering, but those whose default response to his name is to yell or type "Cheat!" are generally marked by less originality and understanding of nuance.

In India, conversely, Warner is hugely popular - the legacy of 14 seasons of Indian Premier League service and an ability to perceive which side of the naan is buttered.

In the manner of counterfeit jersey vendors only offering India shirts bearing Virat or Rohit, the Australian options are Warner or Maxwell.

Warner caters to to this pointedly, especially to the Telugu market in Hyderabad where he played seven seasons, roping his daughters in for Tollywood [Hyderabad-based cinema] dance videos on social media and replicating the moves on the field.

In Australia, reception is mixed. Some cricket watchers were put off years ago by his attitude - an on-field personality that was deliberately abrasive long before other techniques followed suit.

Some still resent the embarrassment of the sandpaper situation. Others enjoy his combativeness and respect his temperament - the one that involves more an inability than an unwillingness to give up.

Those judgements tend to colour how people perceive his cricket, especially in the latter years of his international career, when Test runs became more of a struggle.

His achievements are immense: only four opening batters have exceeded his 111 Tests doing that job, and only three bettered his 8,695 runs. An average that once topped 50 but has declined to 44 leaves him now in the category of the very good, rather than the greats who only need one name: Tendulkar, Ponting, Sangakkara.

Where he could strengthen a claim to be grouped with those three is in one-day cricket. As the format has become less loved, so have its performances become less valued, except perhaps for Virat Kohli's march to 50 centuries.

At the top of the list for all World Cup runs, Tendulkar has 2,278, Kohli has 1,794 and Ponting 1,743. Rohit Sharma is just out of the podium places on 1,575 with Sangakkara fifth on 1,532 and Warner only another five runs adrift.

That's with Warner and Rohit having played substantially fewer innings: last year was their third World Cup, compared to Kohli and Sangakkara with four, Ponting five and Tendulkar six.

But Ponting and Warner are the only ones in that group to actually win the thing more than once. Ponting had a famous streak of three, with Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath. Warner's victory last year added to success in 2015. Tendulkar and Kohli won together in 2011, Rohit wasn't in that team, Sangakkara lost two finals.

Warner joining such elite company underlined his gift for 50-over cricket, something perhaps under-appreciated with modern scheduling affording little chance to play.

Warner played ODIs across 15 years but averaged just over 10 a year. Yet these have returned disproportionate rewards. For instance: Warner's 161 matches produced 22 centuries. Ponting played 214 more times and made 29.

Warner trails only the two Waughs, Ponting, Gilchrist, and Michael Clarke in terms of ODI runs for Australia. Steve Waugh played 164 more games and leads Warner by 637 runs.

The bulk of scoring from limited opportunity exceeds any team-mate or predecessor by a distance. Warner's record is singular.

Most singular of all was the energy in last year's World Cup. Australia's huge Test year showed. Cameron Green was a shadow, Smith was patchy, Pat Cummins at times seemed worn, while Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were not always at their best.

But, having turned 37 during the campaign, Warner was fresh as a spring lamb. He hurled himself into innings, attacking bowling with the confidence of old, hitting the roofs of stadiums, sprinting runs, and setting the fielding standard in the deep.

It was the best he had batted in years - and a fitting way to end one of the great ODI careers.