Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke praised David Warner ahead of the veteran batters last test match in his long international career.
The 37-year-old explosive opener, set to retire from Test cricket at the end of the series against Pakistan, has had an impressive career that involved achievements and controversies, including the infamous ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
Clarke, acknowledged Warner's tough character and aggressive approach both on and off the field.
"Davey (Warner) has always been a tough character, someone I loved having in the team, that intent, that aggressive approach. But he was the same off the field, a little bull, and got into a little bit of trouble along the way," Clarke said in ESPN's 'Around The Wicket' show.
Reflecting on Warner's career, Clarke highlighted the aggressive brand of cricket that initially raised doubts about his suitability for Test cricket. Warner's transition from T20s to Test cricket was met with skepticism, but he proved his critics wrong, scoring 8,695 runs in 111 Tests at an average of 44.58, including 26 centuries.
"But I think he had a lot of support and help from, certainly, senior players and around Cricket Australia that helped him not have his contract ripped up. There was a bit of a fight to keep him because he was so important to the team,” Clarke said.
"(There was) the confidence, being his captain, that (at) the start of his career that like all of us, we are young, (he) needed to learn lessons along the way,” he added.
Clarke credited Warner for managing the challenging role of an opening batter while maintaining his aggressive intent. He described Warner as a gifted player who could do things that others could not.
"Davey's game has really been learnt at the highest level, playing for Australia, which is not easy to do. So I think he deserves a lot of credit," Clarke said
"He's had a stellar career, opening the batting (is) such a hard position. There were a lot of doubts around the way Davey played, " the former World Cup winning captain added.
Discussing Warner's retirement from Test cricket, Clarke considered it perfect timing for the opener to bid farewell on his home turf in Sydney.
"Guess I thought it would have been the ideal time to walk away from international cricket in general but (he) wants to keep playing T20 cricket," Clarke said.
"Now the balance is going to be between playing domestic T20s and stepping up to play internationally. He'll still have to earn his selection,” he added.
Australia will play Pakistan in the third and final test of the series starting from Wednesday.
(With Inputs From PTI...)
