His first hit-out on home turf might have lasted less than an hour, but David Warner felt suitably emboldened by the signs he saw and the rhythm he felt that he immediately proclaimed his intention to be part of Australia’s World Cup defence in the UK next year. Warner showed both form and fluency during his 36 from 32 balls on Saturday (Jul 21) wearing the green strip of City Cyclones in the Northern Territory Strike League in front of around 100 people relaxing on the grass banks of Marrara Oval.
David Warner is a long way from the packed houses of the MCG on Boxing Day or an Ashes Test at Lords. In front of barely 100 people, the 31-year-old made his return to cricket in Australia in Darwin, after almost four months away from Australian pitches.
The New South Welshman took the field for the Darwin Strike League team the City Cyclones, taking up his familiar posts of slips fieldsman and opening batsman. A quickfire 36 briefly entertained the small crowd, who came to see one of cricket's most divisive figures.
"I actually felt really good, good wicket out there and it's good to be playing back on Australian soil," he said.
"No nerves at all … to be playing up here in the Top End is fantastic, just to get back in the groove."
The ball tampering incident in South Africa was arguably the biggest scandal in Australian cricket and thrust Warner, captain Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft into eternal infamy.
Now all three are on the road to public forgiveness. Smith has been travelling around North America and joined Warner at a hit-and-giggle T20 competition in Canada.
Bancroft, whose sand paper-rubbing exploits will be one of Australian cricket's lasting images, has been playing in Darwin since the start of July, quietly trying to regain his touch as he takes in the Top End's dry season.
- Source: News websites
