Warner wallops ton of pain
Dad and soulmate’s tears and big cheers
DAVID Warner’s father shed tears as he reflected on the turbulence of recent months which yesterday culminated with his son hitting the most important century of his Test career.
Warner ground England into the Gabba turf with a sparkling 124 on day three — his fourth Test ton and first since his infamous bar-room bust-up with Ashes rival Joe Root in June.
For Howard Warner, it was a knock he hopes has repaired his boy’s reputation with Australian cricket fans. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke of Warner’s journey and generosity, which has seen the Test opener buy his parents a $700,000 house and pay off personal debts.
‘‘I’m shaking like a leaf, I can’t believe it,’’ said Warner senior, who missed his son’s previous three Test centuries.
‘‘This is the first Test hundred I’ve seen Dave score.
‘‘ I wasn’t in Hobart, I wasn’t in Perth and with Adelaide — we were on a plane going there when he got his century (against South Africa last November). His innings just showed real maturity, it’s been great.’’
At one stage yesterday, chants of ‘‘Warner’’ reverberated around the Gabba. It was the type of hero worship the feisty opener could not have envisaged eight weeks ago. But after flaying the English attack, Warner said his reputation was an ancillary concern to firing for his country.
‘‘I’m just going about my business,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not about me getting the public perception back. It’s about me trying to do my best for the team to be in a position to win games and that’s to score runs for the team.’’
A former hardware salesman, Howard admits the criticism of his son became so fierce he stopped checking news bulletins. But his son has morphed from Ashes