Test Match Special - David Warner exclusive: “I’m a fighter”

Episode Date: June 5, 2023

The man England fans love to hate, David Warner, sits down with Isa Guha for an exclusive interview. They talk about his legacy, his love of the Ashes, what it’s like when 20,000 England fans are booing you, and his battle against Stuart Broad.

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Hello and welcome to the Test Match special podcast. I'm Isha Guha. David Warner is about to play in his seventh Ashes series. He's also going to be his last, as he's just announced that he'll be retiring at the end of the Australian summer. Ahead of the Ashes and the World Test Championship final against India at the Oval, both of which you'll be able to hear in full on Test Match special. I had a fascinating, wide-ranging chat with him to talk about his family, his approach to the

game, his love for the fight, facing Stuart Broad, and what it's like to be booed by so many Barmi-Army fans. The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live. Great to be able to speak to you, Davy. Big summer ahead for you. What are you most looking forward to? Yeah, thanks, Ish. Look, I'm obviously first and foremost looking forward to the test champion.

championship as a nice warm-up and potentially could be champions, test champions, leading into what's going to be a fantastic ashes. If they pull this weather out, it'll be awesome. That might actually be five days of cricket. What have you made of this new approach from England under Ben Stokes? Are they just catching up to your methods? I like the commitment. You know, they keep talking about it, they keep acting on it, they keep doing it.

So I think the only test comes when you, you know, you probably get bowled out for 200 but you're going to have those days as well when you're playing like that so it'll be good to see you know if you lose the first two tests and you don't bat well bat in that way do they change do they're not I think that's the only question but from our point of view we won't be doing anything different that's for sure you'll make it very fascinating your bowl is against england's batters yeah it is but we know if the sun's out here it's going to be a nice day out for the batters hopefully for us for the England guys it's you know it's a plans as well so you know I think the guys are working hard in the background

so to have plans in case England do you know get off to a bit of a flyer and I think you know as a as a player you know when you're on there's still something in that in that wicket that can happen so you know I think if we just keep our lines and lengths hold for a period of time hopefully some catches go to hand are you looking forward to the challenge of the batter I am I can't wait I'm excited been training at Beckenham if they take that wicket everywhere in the country. I'll be laughing. So you've got the ashes ahead, but first off, it's India, which has become a bit of a rivalry itself. How much do you look forward to those battles?

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it, especially here, Duke Ball, both teams firing against playing each other here in England. It's going to be exciting. I know what they can do with the SG ball on turning wickets, but I also know how well equipped they are, you know, in their conditions, as fast bowlers as well. So, you know, Mohamed Shammy's always targeting the stumps, gets them to go both ways. Mohamed Syraj has been excellent of late also. So the challenge is going to be here with the Duke ball against them, their line and lengths, and it's about me trying to disturb that.

But it's fair to say, though, the one test match, you know, it doesn't, it shouldn't determine who's the better team. I think a series would be great, but it is what it is. And, you know, if we can play better than India on those follow. days and it'll be fantastic. It'll be an amazing test match but then you've got the ashes after that. What does the ashes mean to you? It means, it's the same old cliche. It means everything as a kid. It's the pinnacle of test cricket for us as Australians. Coming over here we know how extremely difficult it is to win. It came very, very close last time. It was a great series.

We still got those memories of when J.L. made us watchback Stokesy and Leachie. We'll never forgive him But I think, you know, those moments there Just want you to come back I said in 2009 that I wouldn't come back here Or sorry, after the Ashes last time here I wouldn't come back But I'm sitting here coming back with some redemption

What is it about playing here in England That just gets your juices flowing? There's a mixture of things, you know It's not just the conditions, it's the crowd It's just the sense of occasion It's to build up And that's one thing that we love about, you know, cricket and in general.

Now, we always want to try and do well as an individual for the team, but team winning the series over here would be awesome. Just take us back, you mentioned the crowd there, take us back to 2019, that first test match at Edgebustin, your return from the ban, you've got 20,000 brummies, all saying personal things about you. You know, what's going through your head in that moment? Yeah, look, it's a tough one.

You know, I can play the other side and say, you know, it's why do they have to be personal and all that kind of stuff but at the end of the day you know they want to pay a ticket come watch us and abuse us and they think it's okay to do that then you know fine by me but i'll always play play along that's how i've always been you know if they're if they're going at me they're trying to i'm obviously doing something well they're trying to put me off my game and um you know if they keep coming at me that's fine it doesn't bother me i'll keep going out there i've got the best seat in the house to watch the game so uh all i can do is sit back, smile and try and score runs.

How do you see your role, though, as this kind of pantomime villain, if you like? Is it something you thrive on? Yeah, I do. And for me, it takes a lot of pressure off the other players. No other player gets to sort of, you know, they're not sort of, how you say it, I want to say a victim. But, you know, when you're out there and you do have that, you know, sort of behind you, and you know, you do hear it.

But for me, when I walk out, I'm almost walking out there with a smile on my way because I know they're worried. So, you know, if they did it to probably every player, you know, what would happen then? You know, you just don't know how people would react. But for me, I'm thinking they've done it long enough to understand that I don't care.

But I enjoy it. They have fun. They get a few beers in them and they have a laugh and go home and, yeah, had a good day out. So the English fans like to get it stuck into you, Davey, but who is the real David Warner? Married, married to a lovely lady

and have three beautiful daughters and, you know, for me, I'm a very family-orientator person. You know, I absolutely love them and adore them, but, you know, I'm actually genuinely a deep down, a caring person, so, you know, I reach out to anyone out there that wants to have a beer with me and you get the opportunity to you can sit down and we can talk cricket, we can talk,

anything and I'm always up for it. What you see on the field is what you see. I think in my past I've had those experiences where I've clashed with people on the field. I've made some mistakes in my time. But deep down I think I'm a good person and

yeah, I've enjoyed my sort of my career to date as well. So hopefully I've put some smiles on people's faces watching the game of cricket and hopefully I can sort of leave that little bit of a legacy behind. You mentioned And you've perhaps got into a few scraps on the field.

Do you sometimes feel that you maybe turn into a different person almost, especially when there's that extra pressure on you? I think when you look back, it's over a decade now that I've been playing, it used to be like that. It used to be, you know, a lot more bands, a lot more sledging. Now there's a lot more franchise cricket around. Everyone knows everyone. So it's been like that now where you walk out there.

you're competing against, you know, guys that you first started and you're actually having proper banser with and now, like, you're sharing a change room with and walking out to play alongside them. So, you know, from that perspective, we do change. And as you get older, you start, you know, you talk about maturing,

but I think you just, you get a better understanding of, you know, other people and how they go about playing cricket, how other people, you know, get themselves up and about. And I used to probably, you know, I sort of brought up being that aggressive person on the field and I've sort of found a piece with that now standing at first slip, just enjoying myself and hopefully one goes in the breadbasket

and then hopefully score some runs. What's the weirdest thing an England player has ever said to you on the field? I reckon there's been anything that really weird said. There's just a little bit of banter here and there. You know, when you're changing between overs and stuff And that's, I'm talking, that's probably years ago. It hasn't happened recent years. I think everyone knows certain players you probably don't go at when you're on the field.

So probably one of them. So I like that stuff. And if I have to get into it when I'm out there, I'll always stick up for, you know, the player at the other end as well. If they're getting into them, you've always got to back up your teammate. So, you know, you can take a bit of heat off them. You know you can cop it. So, yeah, help them out.

Let's talk about your form with the bat and, you know, last time you were here it was a difficult ashes for you. You average 40 against you abroad in particular in Australia, but over here it's significantly different. Why is that? What is so different? I think I've, you know, I've had coaches in the past, you know, try and tell me that you've got to play more of a defensive sort of game over here. And I feel like last series when I was here, I was concentrating too much on surviving. My game plans based on attacking and putting the bowlers off their line and lengths. And, you know, I had success the series before that when I was over here. I think I scored 50 in every second innings.

But I look back at those. And if you get good balls, you get good balls. You can't do think about it. So I think the way the Brody bowled last time was great. I think, you know, for me, looking to be defensive early against him. And rightfully so, he bowled really well. I think if I'm looking to score and I'm in those positions

I actually can defend better and that's just the way that I play so if I'm looking to score I defend better try and put them off line and length I think that approach will work for me coming this season something I've always probably missed a little bit

18 months prior I think sort of not went into my shell but I was looking more to survive rather than just play my natural game so hopefully I can bring that out here in this first game in the test championship final What about that rivalry then with Stuart Broad? Just take us into your mind and your mindset, edge busting, first ball,

facing up to Stuart Broad, what is going through your mind? I think I missed two half volleys. I try to hit him straight down the ground. So like, your mindset is just basically, you know, first up, you're hoping that they miss their line and length, and then they're going to have to adjust. So from my perspective, it was, you know, It's just one of those things where you've got to try and get not in the upper hand early.

It gets me out of LBW. I don't review it. It's missing the stump. So there are things that you go back and you go, well, I've worked hard on trying to work out a game plan against their attack. And then you get out like that. And then there's conversations. Oh, you know, why are you batting outside, sort of off and middle? Why are you batting out of your crease?

Why are you doing this? And then you start guessing, second guessing yourself, going, well, is that the right approach? but the rivalry is great I think you know I think in a recent interview you know he was talking about

how you know bowling against me had to go back and like try and work out ways how to try and stop me to stop the flow of scoring for me it's the same thing

how do I look to try and attack how do I score off him how do I put him off his line and length I think in Australia your margin of error is very small where in England the board does swing in the end does seem both ways. So I think with those 2018 Dukes, especially, they gripped,

they grip off the surface early on. So as an opening batter, if you manage to survive 10 to 15 overs, it'll get a lot of easy with that seam because it was grippy. And I think, you know, both sets of openness from both teams didn't have a great series. So from my perspective, I didn't look too much into it because I did get some good balls. But the rivalry in general has been fantastic. I've enjoyed it. He's a world-class, baller, world-class competitor, and he's a good bloke. And I think sharing a beverage with those guys afterwards

and just understanding how they go about their game as well, we're there because we love the game and we love the rivalry, but we all bring the best out of each other. And I think you don't have longevity in the game if you're not in that competitive spirit as well. so I think he always brings that and I've got the ultimate respect for him. It's quite amazing really two players

coming to the end of their careers and this will be your last time here in the UK. What do you want your legacy to be? I think just remembered as a fighter, as a player who started his career playing 20-20 cricket not thinking I'd ever open the batting

for Australian test cricket. Play all three forms. Hopefully I can inspire the next generation that, you know, you've got hope of playing long form of the game if you just, you know, start playing 2020 cricket. I think it's important that, you know, you've got to pride yourself on your fitness and the way that you go about it. You have to train hard as a kid. I did a lot of that behind the scenes.

And, yeah, just want to be, you know, sort of leave behind that competitive spirit, going out there and giving it my all, being the best teammate I can, and being the ultimate. competitor when I'm out there. Does it feel quite emotional, you know, with everything that you've been through in the game, you know, your early beginnings through what you've achieved? You know, you've got the second best strike rate for an opener for anyone that's played more than 35 test matches. I mean, that's pretty outstanding.

You've been involved in some incredible battles. You've won ashes. How does that make you feel? Yeah, I think I'd be able to sit back and reflect on that when I finish. And, you know, when you hear those things, you don't actually realise that that's what you've done. I think, you know, we don't look at stats or anything like that. But when you sit back and, like yourself, when you say things like that, you pinch yourself. I've been given a great opportunity.

I've come through the system at the right time. We're to create generation before us. So just to put on the Australian bag of, or to put on the baggy green in itself is a special moment. But I just, I always look back and think back of that young kid that came through Housing Commission. Grew up, annoying all my next-door neighbours with the balls banging on their walls. Even in my garage, I'd annoy my dad because if I missed one, I used the bang on the garage door as well. So, you know, coming from Housing Commission, you know, I worked at the local Woolworths, which is probably Tesco's, at 14 years of age. to playing cricket and coming back

and playing over a decade it is really, really special I don't just represent myself I represent all my friends that wanted to achieve that as well so they're always in the back of my mind that kids growing up that I played with that wanted to aspire to play at this level

I'm always thinking of them and making sure that what they've seen me be able to do has made them happy as well because I've had a lot of good mates that played cricket that were exactly like me but went into different career paths

so I feel like I represent them in a way and yeah I'm just happy for my family as well so my parents Lorraine and Halwin and Steve they're not coming over no they're hoping I get back to Australia and I retire in Australia

so fingers crossed that might happen but you know I've really enjoyed it and without them I wouldn't be here today an incredible Ashes series coming up and I'm sure you'll be doing your friends and your family really proud just by being out there and playing with that competitive spirit. Why do you think you've been so successful at the top of the order in that kind of aggressive style? I've always said if you've got a fear of failure, you might as well quit now.

You've got to go out there and just play your way. You've got to trust your method. You've got to back yourself. You know, you've always got to think that you backs up against the wall. And I think that's from my background. You know, as a kid, growing up, has a house. commission, that's what you did. You had to always, you know, fight's the wrong word, but you always had to hustle. You had to, you know, find a way to do things, to be successful. You know, I was never an academic, I was never smart. I just learned how to work hard from a young age. So I think that's probably why I'm probably mentally strong as well. You've got to go through some hard times to really understand how to deal with certain situations. That's why when people talk

about pressure, I don't feel pressure. You can speak about it, you can see, you can say whatever you're like in terms of you're not scoring runs, this and that. We see things, I see things different. People talk about, you know, form. I'm never out of form and it's out of runs. If you start believing that stuff, then I feel like you're going to go into that show. shell and you're not going to get out of it so you've always got to have you know some positive affirmations to get you going and to keep you going so for me that's where i i feel that i'm probably at my strongest and my resilience comes from my background growing up a lot of lessons there for for young kids listening or watching for sure certainly in competitive cricket and

competitive sport to be able to to build that resilience to be able to come back from you know your darkest moments and you've certainly been able to do that. Some of the lighter stuff then. Mitch Johnson said that when he was terrorising England in Australia, the song that was playing in his mind was frozen, let it go, that was being played on repeat at home by his lovely daughter. Is there anything that you think of when you're out there on the field? Oh, I used to sing the Wiggles a lot in my head, especially when I had Ivy. But now the little one, Isla, she's into the Wiggles now as well. So it's starting to come back.

The girls weren't really into Frozen and that. I think it was like a bit of about a month or two. Obviously there are eight and seven now Ivy and Indies. So Isla started the transition through that period now. But yeah, I think Mitchell had to have that in his head though. to be honest let it go quite literally let it go

he would have had to have it in his head over here that's for sure what about your daughters because I know they're involved in cricket they love the game how good is it that they can have so many amazing female role models

around them as well oh they love it absolutely love it they're just taking up what you guys call football they play soccer on the weekends as well and tennis

but they absolutely love it like they go to the women's big bash you know they They love being around the girls. It helps when Starkey is married to Alyssa. They absolutely love her, especially the little one. But they just love the fact that they get the opportunity that a lot of other kids don't as well.

So they're around people who, they, it's normal people who, other people go, you know, wow, how do you know these guys, you know? So they're privileged in a way, but they know and understand, you know, what they're getting into. If they don't want to play any of the sport, they don't have to. not once have they ever said they don't want to go to training they don't want to go to um you know netball on the weekend either so from our point of view we we really enjoy that and we're happy to a lot of running around for the wife because i'm never home which i am grateful for

and i'm sure that will come back tenfold when i'm home um and i'll enjoy doing those activities with the girls so i can't wait for that but yeah you know they love their sport and so many yeah there's so many role models out there for them um And hopefully I'm one of them for them, even though they speak about Marnas and Finchie and, you know, Starkey and all them. So, you know, when they're around us. Keeps you grounded. Yeah, it does keep you grounded in a way. But I like when they talk about people like Ash Barty, they love Serena Williams as well.

You know, they're talking about Alyssa and Meg. You know, I hope they were going to be over during the women's IPO, but they weren't. but they love all that so they're excited and they're growing up in a great era. Are you looking forward to the Wombshashes? I am I think it's the first time I think since we're going to play

simultaneous which is fantastic. It's going to be great disappointing and sad for Meg as well I think she's had that break last time as well where she missed out a lot of cricket so hopefully she recovers well and obviously with Alyssa leading it's a great opportunity for her to lead

with the girls there and hopefully our girls can get off to a flyer. Davey, I wouldn't expect anything less. Thank you very much for your time. It's been much appreciated and all the best for what is going to be an incredible summer. I appreciate it, thank you. That was David Warner.

You'll be able to hear him in action during the World Test Championship and the Ashes with commentary on every ball of every game on BBC Sounds and Five Sports Extra. It's right into the World Trade Center. It was a big, big explosion of place. People Who Knew Me, a story about lies. You used a terrorist attack to run away from your mess and fake your own death.

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