Moments after guaranteeing a farewell Test at the SCG in January with a fine century in Perth on Thursday, David Warner whipped his helmet off and put his finger to his lips.
The sounds of silence have been a theme for this Australian cricket team over the last month and it was the feisty opener’s turn to challenge those who have criticised him.
Shut up!
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There was no mistaking the meaning of the gesture, even if the veteran was later more polite when discussing the point behind the celebration to mark an outstanding knock.
“You saw what it was. A nice little quiet shush,” he said at Perth Stadium on Thursday night.
In the aftermath of the ODI World Cup triumph, in which Australia silenced the partisan Indian crowd with a brilliant performance, Warner arrived home to find the spotlight on him.
His former teammate Mitch Johnson wrote an inflammatory opinion piece in The West Australian stating Warner should not be in the Test team and did not deserve a long farewell.
It sparked thousands and thousands of words as former pundits and ex-teammates of the pair pondered the merits of the piece and also the legacy Warner will leave when he retires.
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Warner, who fell for 164 deep in a third session of a day Australia largely dominated, was beaten to the punch when discussing the knock by his wife Candice, who posted a ‘shushing’ emoji above a social media post celebrating the 37-year-old’s 26th Test century.
He initially said the gesture was not aimed at anyone in particular, but when responding to a direct question about Johnson, said; “Mitch is entitled to his opinion. He is a former player.”
“It is anyone who wants to write stories about me and tries to get headlines. That stuff does not bother me,” Warner said.
“It is just the fact that I have to go out there, do what I have to do, and I am allowed to celebrate how I want.”
Former Australian greats Adam Gilchrist and Mike Hussey told foxsports.com.au they were not surprised to see Warner issue a firm rebuttal at the crease given his history.
But the opener, who moved to fifth-position on Australia’s all-time Test run scoring honour roll with his deeds on Thursday, said he did not need any external motivation to perform.
“It is not about me being up against the wall. It is your guy’s job to write stories. If someone is not scoring runs, then you are entitled to do that,” he said.
“For me, it is about trying my best and scoring runs. I don’t feel any extra pressure. I don’t feel any other point that I have to prove.
“I am getting older, so your games are limited. It is game by game now. If I fail the next innings, there will probably be headlines, but it is what it is in a game of cricket.
“If people are out to get you or make a headline from your name, then so be it. I can’t worry about that. I just have to keep scoring runs and put my team in a great position.”
Warner’s epic stint comes to an end | 00:38
The New South Welshman said he felt more comfortable at the crease now than last year when he was in the midst of prolonged negotiations with Cricket Australia hoping to have the captaincy ban placed on him as a result of the “sandpaper gate” scandal rescinded.
“There was a lot of stuff with CA last year and the captaincy stuff. I was going through a pretty hard time off the field, dealing with it,” Warner said.
“This year, we have had a great, successful 12 months as a team. And we are all so pleased with our achievements. We still have work to do this summer but I think where I am in the part of my career, it has been great. I have not really had much to worry about.
“People make comments but you get on with it and you have to go out there and score runs.”
Warner strode to the crease with his fellow opener Usman Khawaja, who had also created headlines in the lead-in to the Test over his stance calling for compassion in Gaza.
The opener, who taped over the message on his shoes that had sparked headlines but wore a black armband to reiterate his stance, eventually fell for 41 after lunch.
“For Uzzy to put that video out there, I thought it was very well spoken. He is entitled to his opinions and we fully support that,” Warner said.
“He is a really good mate of mine and I know it is something that is really close to his heart. All we can do is really support Uzzy and his views on that. That video, he elaborated on what his views and thoughts are, and we support that.”
‘It’s my job to come out here and score’ | 00:51
Khawaja was able to enjoy a laugh at the audacious ramp shot Warner played when hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for six over fine leg in the opening session.
“I actually thought it was shorter than it was until I saw the replay. The boys were laughing,” Warner said.
“Uzzy comes up to me and goes, ‘That is an unbelievable shot’. And I said, ‘What? It was a short ball mate, and I can ride it’. And he said, ‘That was not short, mate. That could have been a cover drive.’
“But for me, it is something where, if they are going to put fine leg square and you have boundaries like that and someone is bowling at 140 kms, you have to be brave.
“It is a scoring shot and nine times out of ten, they are bowling a nice length and on this wicket, it is hard to hit the stumps, and I just thought that with his angle and his pace, I could ride it. I just gave it a crack.”
Warner said he felt the Pakistan attack, which was wayward early but rebounded after lunch, missed a trick by not bowling more regularly over the wicket to him given the movement on offer.
On sitting down to begin the press conference, Warner quipped that “the silence is deafening”.
At its conclusion, he reflected on how much more enjoyable the remainder of the series would be now that he had effectively secured his spot for the New Year Test in Sydney.
“It is up to the selectors. If they want to keep continuing to pick me, I ain’t leaving,” he said.
Bursting into laughter, there was a double-take. Was he planning to continue on?
“No. I’m not.”
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