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NEW DELHI: Australia’s opening batter David Warner on Saturday revealed that he was not 100 percent mentally ahead of the first Test against South Africa in Perth, while slamming Cricket Australia (CA) for their lack of support during his leadership ban appeal.
“Leading into the Perth Test, my mental health probably wasn’t where I needed it to be at to be 100 per cent. And that was challenging at the time,” Warned said ahead of his 100th Test.
Australia won the first Test by six wickets, but Warner was out for 0 and 3. In fact, he hasn’t scored a Test century since January 2020.
Warner had been handed a lifetime leadership ban for his role in the 2018 ball tampering scandal. The 36-year-old had launched an appeal against the ban and both Warner and CA wanted a closed-door hearing.
However, the board-appointed independent commissioners insisted on it being public, forcing Warner to withdraw his appeal.
“If I had it my way we would have had it all sorted. From the CA point of view, I didn’t really have any support. My teammates and the staff in our team were absolutely amazing, and my family and friends – they really got me through that period,” he added.
The opener said he was unable to understand why the process had taken so much time.
“We reached out in February. So we have no idea how it went on this far and only CA can answer that and they’ll probably give you the same thing that they always give everyone else, they don’t really give an answer,” Warner said.
Warner though backed himself to do well in the upcoming Boxing Day Test.
“Yeah my back’s up against the wall, but it’s in my DNA to keep being competitive, come out here with a smile on my face and take on whatever opposition we’re going to face,” he said.
He added that he will have a conversation with the board after the South Africa series.
“I’ll have that conversation once that series is done. For me, it’s about staying in the right frame of mind to take on the South Africans.
“I’m pumped to play another Boxing Day Test and more importantly we’ve got a series that’s on the line.”
(With inputs from PTI)
“Leading into the Perth Test, my mental health probably wasn’t where I needed it to be at to be 100 per cent. And that was challenging at the time,” Warned said ahead of his 100th Test.
Australia won the first Test by six wickets, but Warner was out for 0 and 3. In fact, he hasn’t scored a Test century since January 2020.
Warner had been handed a lifetime leadership ban for his role in the 2018 ball tampering scandal. The 36-year-old had launched an appeal against the ban and both Warner and CA wanted a closed-door hearing.
However, the board-appointed independent commissioners insisted on it being public, forcing Warner to withdraw his appeal.
“If I had it my way we would have had it all sorted. From the CA point of view, I didn’t really have any support. My teammates and the staff in our team were absolutely amazing, and my family and friends – they really got me through that period,” he added.
The opener said he was unable to understand why the process had taken so much time.
“We reached out in February. So we have no idea how it went on this far and only CA can answer that and they’ll probably give you the same thing that they always give everyone else, they don’t really give an answer,” Warner said.
Warner though backed himself to do well in the upcoming Boxing Day Test.
“Yeah my back’s up against the wall, but it’s in my DNA to keep being competitive, come out here with a smile on my face and take on whatever opposition we’re going to face,” he said.
He added that he will have a conversation with the board after the South Africa series.
“I’ll have that conversation once that series is done. For me, it’s about staying in the right frame of mind to take on the South Africans.
“I’m pumped to play another Boxing Day Test and more importantly we’ve got a series that’s on the line.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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