Australia opener David Warner has finally ended his silence on leadership ban imposed on him by Cricket Australia (CA). Warner was suspended for one year for his part in the infamous ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year. Moreover, CA also imposed a lifelong leadership ban on Warner — who was the vice-captain at that time — meant he can never hold a leadership position within the Australia team.
“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to respect the decision and move on and get on with it,” Warner was quoted as saying by foxsports.com.au. “I haven’t looked back, I’ve just kept on looking forward. And my job is to come out and score runs.”
“I didn’t do well in England but it’s about me trying to return to scoring runs and putting my best foot forward for the team,” he added.
Warner had the chance to go past the 400-mark, but skipper Tim Paine called off the innings, declaring Australia at 589/3. In reply, Pakistan were bundled out for 302 in the first innings, and then were asked to bat again. In the 2nd innings, the visitors could only muster 239, handing the hosts a win by an innings and 48 runs.
“I backed myself and just enjoyed it. I had a bit of time out of the game to reflect on a lot of things. Now that I am back here, I am enjoying it and am hungrier than ever. We are going to come up against a quality opposition (on New Zealand). It’s always a good contest,” Warner said after the end of the match.
