Ahead of his 100th Test, David Warner has again criticised Cricket Australia for the way they handled his appeal of the leadership ban and explained how it affected him.
Warner claimed the protracted saga, which started in February, left him mentally drained before the first Test of the season against the West Indies in Perth.
“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,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Warner as saying.
“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. 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 further added.
Though Warner admitted he was struggling ahead of the West Indies series however he never considered stepping aside while the off-field issues were unravelling.
“I’ve never had that in me to quit or to back down. I feel like I can get through anything. At the time I was focused on scoring runs and [doing] the best job I could for the team. I’d still do the same thing again because that’s what I’m about, I’m about going out there and doing the best I can for the team. It is what it is now – I’ve moved on and I’m in a great positive mindset now,” he said.
For 36-year-old Warner, who has only scored 675 runs at 28.12 in 25 Test innings since his previous century in January 2020, it extended a slump. Warner is under more pressure as rumours about his Test career grow ahead of Australia’s tour of India and England next year, where he has unimpressive records.
Warner said that he and CA would likely speak once more following the conclusion of the South Africa series. The chance of a leadership position on that team had initially prompted the push to have the ban lifted. He has a brief window where he will play in the BBL for Sydney Thunder, which was made possible by a massive money agreement from CA to promote the league.
“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,” said the Australia batter. (ANI)
This report is filed by ANI news service. TheNewsMill holds no responsibility for this content.
