Published 11:59 IST, September 7th 2020
Eng vs Aus 2020: David Warner subtly mocks English supporters for matches without crowds
David Warner said that he felt bizarre playing without spectators during the first T20I and added that it was the first time he wasn’t abused by England fans.
Australian cricketer David Warner was a part of the infamous ball-tampering scandal in 2018, also known as the 'Sandpapergate', after which the southpaw was banned for a year. Since then, David Warner has been subjected to a lot of trolls, mockery and criticism. In fact, David Warner has also been mistreated by the crowd on several occasions, including during the ICC Cricket World Cup last year and Ashes 2019.
David Warner glad for not being abused by England fans
David Warner is once again in England for the limited-overs (T20Is and ODIs) series against Eoin Morgan's sides. However, the left-hander has experienced something different this time around. The matches are being played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking about the same, David Warner said that he felt bizarre playing without spectators during the first T20I against England and lightheartedly added that it was the first time he wasn’t abused by England fans.
In a post-match virtual press conference, Warner admitted that the crowd has the ability to lift a player up and charge them, which is why they love playing both home and away. However, he was grateful for the resumption of international cricket and refused to make excuses for Australia's defeats to England. The batsman, who was dismissed for a T20I duck for the first time in 8 years in the second match, stated that towards the end, England bowled exceptionally well and knocked them over quite comprehensively. He called for his fellow batsmen to be a little bit smarter and work out how they are going to hit their boundaries in the middle overs while rotating the strike.
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Meanwhile, England beat Australia by six wickets in the second T20I at the Rose Bowl in Southampton on Sunday to clinch the three-match T20I series with a game to go. David Warner failed to perform in the match as he was dismissed for a duck. The focus now shifts to the third T20I where the hosts will look to whitewash the Aussies while the visitors will look to play for their pride. David Warner will look to regain his form in the third T20I by scoring some runs.
The southpaw is set to travel to the UAE for the upcoming IPL 2020 from which is slated to start on September 19. Warner is arguably the most important member of the SRH squad for the IPL 2020. His performances will be crucial in determining how far the Hyderabad-based franchise go in IPL 2020.
SRH squad for IPL
David Warner (Captain), Wriddhiman Saha (Wicketkeeper), Manish Pandey, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul, Shahbaz Nadeem, Jonny Bairstow, Mitchell Marsh, Priyam Garg, Vijay Shankar, Kane Williamson, Sandeep Sharma, Khaleel Ahmed, Virat Singh, Mohammad Nabi, Shreevats Goswami, Basil Thampi, Abhishek Sharma, Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, T Natarajan, Sandeep Bavanaka, Sanjay Yadav, Abdul Samad.
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IMAGE COURTESY: AP
Updated 11:59 IST, September 7th 2020