On this day: Birth of Australia’s all-format superstar – David Warner

When David Warner made his international debut, the general notion was that a player should start his career with an ODI or a Test to develop their skills and then proceed to the shortest format. But in his case, it was exactly the opposite.

Warner’s first match for the Australian team was a T20I game against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2009. And what a debut it was! Playing at a ground as big as the MCG, Warner thrashed the South African bowlers to all parts of the ground en route his knock of 89, which he got off just 43 balls.

His T20 success earned him a spot in the Australian One Day International team just a week later against the same opponent. Opening the batting alongside Shaun Marsh, Warner failed to impress as his stay at the crease lasted for just 7 balls in which he was able to score only 5 runs. But he quickly made a comeback scoring 69 in the following game. He then delivered regularly and became a mainstay of the ODI team.

It seemed like Australia had found the perfect replacement for the legend Matthew Hayden. And to date, there have been only a few times that Australia have started poorly, thanks to David Warner’s presence.

A Glorious start to Test career

Warner had to wait for a total of two years before he could make his debut in whites. After a long and patient wait, he got his ‘Baggy Green’ 2011. The match was to be played against New Zealand. Listed to be an aggressive batsman till that time after his debut, he showed the different styles of batting that he had perfected in his second match. In that long haul innings, he amassed 180 runs and established himself as an all-format opener for Australia.

Warner continued to do well for Australia and was the leader with the bat in the team’s various successful campaigns including the coveted Ashes series and the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. ‘The Bull’ has shown his capabilities with the bat in various T20 tournaments across the globe, including the Indian Premier League where he led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to a title win in 2016. A dark phase came in his career during that fateful series against South Africa where he was found guilty of ball-tampering and was handed a year-long ban.

Once again, Warner showed the strength of the unbreakable material that he is made of when he made a strong comeback into the Australian team.