When David Warner declared his availability to play for Australia this summer – the second time he has done so since retiring in January, by the way – more than a few minds were cast back to the years between 2008 and 2013.
In that time, the late Shane Warne also made multiple “comeback” headlines, usually with extremely similar quotes to the ones Warner gave News Corp as the former opener met King Charles in Sydney on Tuesday.
David Warner farewells the SCG crowd in January.Credit: Getty
“I’m always available, just got to pick up the phone,” Warner announced. “I’m always dead serious. Let’s be honest, the guys have played one red-ball game since their last Test matches in February, so I’ve almost had the same preparation.
“Honestly, if they really needed myself for this series, I’m more than happy to play the next Shield game and go out there and play. I did retire for the right reasons to finish the game and I wanted to finish. [But] my hand is up if they desperately need someone. I’m not going to shy away from that.”
Here’s Warne in 2012, when his close friend Michael Clarke was Test captain and Nathan Lyon was still finding his feet in international cricket: “For me, it’s not a matter of whether I could do it or not – I have absolutely no doubt if I wanted to commit to try to make a comeback and go through grade cricket, first-class cricket and try to get selected … that I could do it.”
Warne’s comebacks started in 2008 when Stuart MacGill retired abruptly, and continued amid a heavy home Ashes defeat in 2010-11. He perhaps came closest to a legitimate international return ahead of the 2009 Ashes tour, and in 2011 moved into a foundational role for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League.
David Warner and Shane Warne pose together in 2011.Credit: Getty Images
By the time of the comments above, numerous members of the Test side had tired of the routine. Mitchell Starc spoke up about it, and was a target for Warne’s commentary barbs for years as a result.
Eagerness to evoke Warne in the Warner “comeback” was evident in how some headlines referred to him as “The King”. Not merely a reference to the event at which Warner spoke, where King Charles was also present, but also a nod to Warne’s nickname among friends in the years after his retirement.
But here’s the biggest difference between Warner and Warne: while there was always a certain section of the community that would genuinely have loved to see the leg spinner back in the baggy green, if even for a moment, Warner has no such support.
It was the national selectors who hung onto Warner, valuing his rare batting talent and ability to change games as an aggressive opener, in the face of a wave of negative public sentiment.
But they have no intention of turning to the 37-year-old now.
As Warner acknowledged in the News Corp interview, he got no traction with Australian coach Andrew McDonald.
“… I’ve spoken to Torch [McDonald] and his answer back to me was; ‘You retired’,” Warner said.
While some of that opinion is a hangover from the 2018 Newlands scandal, for which Cricket Australia sheeted home most blame to Warner in a manner that still rankles him, it has also merged with a general sense of fatigue about his generation. A Warner comeback would only heighten that fatigue.
Cricket lovers in Australia, from the most committed Sheffield Shield attendee to the casual watcher who may only tune in on Boxing Day, are in ardent agreement that the national team needs new blood.
The most excitement, as evidenced by a far bigger-than-expected turnout for day one of the Victoria-NSW game on Sunday, is actually for 19-year-old Sam Konstas, an opener half Warner’s age. Last summer, it was Cameron Green’s century in Wellington that set pulses racing.
Green is now recuperating from back surgery, and there are many questions around Australia’s approach to regeneration. These are heightened by the fact that, save for Alex Carey, none of the incumbent batters have lit up the Sheffield Shield over the past couple of weeks.
Over the past 18 months, only Usman Khawaja has shone consistently for Australia. Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have all been up and down. That’s why, apart from Konstas, the selectors are also looking closely at 25-year-old South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney.
But so far as Warner is concerned, his biggest challenge will not be coming back to face the new ball in Indian hands in Perth. Instead, it is about whether, as a personality with all the aforementioned baggage, Warner will be able to fill the Warne-shaped hole in the Fox Cricket commentary box this summer.
