Pat Cummins and David Warner have spoken candidly about hearing the tragic news of Shane Warne’s death immediately following a day’s play in a Test match against Pakistan.
Cummins, Warner and a number of other members of the Aussie side revealed all in the third episode of Amazon’s second season of The Test, admitting the team shared a few beers and reminisced about the King of Spin before having to focus on the rest of the match the very next day.
“We just finished the first day’s play and we were in the bus and Davey Warner turned around and just said ‘hey everyone, just to let you know that Shane Warne has passed away in Thailand’” Cummins said.
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Warner said the news understandably “hit” the Aussies hard.
“That night we sat upstairs and had a few beers and went over some Warnie stories. It really hit us. A character of our game and a loyal human being has been taken away at such a young age,” Warner said.
Leg-spinner Mitch Swepson added, “Guys had to deal with it in their own way and we just knew we had to get back out there the next day and try and win a game for Australia just like Warney would have wanted us to do.”
Uzzie opens up on historic Pakistan tour | 00:46
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A lighter part of the episode delved into Usman Khawaja’s impassioned speech to his Aussie teammates on how important taking part in the Pakistan series would be to the game of cricket.
Australia’s tour to Pakistan was the first in 24 years with Khawaja born in Pakistan, where he spent the first four years of his life before he and his family relocated to New South Wales.
“I said to the guys, you can do whatever you want in the game and that’s awesome, but this is the kind of legacy that lives on in generation,” Khawaja said on The Test.
“You might not see it, but if you come here and play for Australia, think about all the kids that Steve Smith will inspire, think about all the spinners that a Nathan Lyon will inspire or the fast bowlers Pat Cummins will inspire.
“It’s our responsibility as being one of the major teams in the world to give back. This is the way we get to give back so it’s up to you.”
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