Page 110 – POST, December 7, 2019 Warner on the road to redemption THE from whence he came. He lived in a Housing SPORTING Commission home and worked stacking up groceries at Woolies for 12 bucks an hour. Even as with Australian an elite cricketer he could still Football Hall of Famer remember on what shelf in which AUSTIN ROBERTSON aisle you’d fi nd the seedless olives. No private-school blazers for Leonardo da Vinci was his- our Davey. tory’s greatest switch-thinker. And his path to Test glory was He drew with his left hand equally unlikely – he’s the only while simultaneously mirror- cricketer in the entire history writing with his right. of our summer game to make He found mathematics essen- a national team without any tial to his art and art essential first-class experience, a T20 to his mathematics and became International against South profi cient in every human en- Africa on January 11, 2009, and deavour but one: Golf. it took him three more years David Andrew Warner, on the to convince the selectors, and other hand, does play golf, ex- the public, that he could be a tremely well, with either hand. genuine Test player. He actually hits the ball with You might not yet “love” Davey both hands, but it wouldn’t sur- Warner but it’s impossible not prise anybody if his golf bag was to respect what he has achieved full of left-handed woods and from the depths of human de- right-handed irons. He’s baaack! … David Warner celebrates his runathon against Pakistan. spair that would have taken any Davey is cricket’s switch- of us to the brink. thinker. pincer movement. the other side. look surprisingly brittle. It goes to show that the Last weekend, on the big The hating began as soon as His one-day and T20 interna- He’s a bloke in need of a top Australian sporting public will stage of the second Test against Davey set foot on English soil tional form was masterful. order collapse. forgive almost anything if you Pakistan in Adelaide, he this northern summer, and it And when he reached the Davey Warner will never be can show them something pure. slugged, carved and with deli- continued unabated through Gabba, and the fi rst Test, he a player you can take to your And there’s nothing purer than cate reverse swept himself into what could only be described was ready for an almost unprec- heart. He will never be that cute the 500-plus runs, out only once, cricket’s history books. as his Ashes Horribilus. edented assault on the enemy. cuddly little koala. that he’s scored in the fi rst two He amassed a record-break- When he limped off the Oval So much so that he’s distorted But you have to be conscious Tests this summer. ing 335 not out, admittedly in the last Ashes Test, Broad- the natural order of things in the against a second-rate attack, beaten and dragging his tail hierarchy of Australian batting confi rming his utter dominance behind him with an average of that says Steve Smith is alpha of all forms of the game at home diddly-squat, I wondered how in male and the rest, including Liam’s big impression in the Australian summer (his hell he’d come back from here? Davey, are bit players. record overseas is not as good). You could see it The arrangement Since the AFL decided to But that innings is not going in his look of resig- that seemed to be make the National Draft a big to defi ne him like former skip- nation as the fi ckle He’s pushed set in stone was event, complete with inter- per Mark Taylor’s 334 not out finger of cricket that numbers one views, photo opportunities and in 1998, also against Pakistan, fate was raised that rock over and two would highlight reels, it’s been, let’s or Matthew Hayden’s monster once again, con- depart the scene face it, not the most exciting fi rming again and ‘the top of the briskly, leaving 380 against Zimbabwe here at again his inability Smith at number of spectacles. the WACA in 2003. mountain and I’m tempted to say drab. We all know what will defi ne to cope with being four, supported by Broad’s bunny. the rest of the bat- Nervous young blokes fresh out Davey Warner, no matter how sent it hurtling of school with nervous smiles many runs he scored, even if He was like ting order, to right Sisyphus in the down on his the ship. answering stock questions with he were to go past the all-time stock answers. record Test innings of 400 not old Greek myths, Obviously forced to end- opponents there’s an excep- And then along came Liam out against England in 2004. Henry. The crime and the punish- lessly push a rock tion to every rule, up a hill (or was it the slope at and Next Big Thing Manus There was already a fair bit ment are the asterisk that will ’ of chatter about the youngster always sit after Davey’s name Lords?) only to see it roll back to Labuchagne is it, but there’s no the bottom each time, crushing doubt that Smith is feeling the from Tammin via Derby after in the annals of cricket, along his sparkling U18 Carnival with those of Steve Smith and him as it went. Warner pressure. And you couldn’t help but He’s always been an Eveready performances, and it was pretty Cam Bancroft. obvious that Freo wanted their In Warner’s case the stain is think this was the cricket gods bunny, but this series he’s at work, punishing him for his looked like someone has hooked Academy kid at pretty much worse, because, while Smith any cost. stands accused of weak leader- crime for all eternity. him up to one of Elon Musk’s But come back he has. This super solar batteries and over- But then when you saw the ship and Bancroft was caught genuine emotion from mum and red-handed doing the dirty summer he’s pushed that rock charged him. over the top of the mountain and There are times you think he dad when his name was called deed, Warner won himself a at pick nine, his tousle-haired special place in cricket’s Hall sent it hurtling down on his op- might explode – and it’s making Role model … Freo draft pick ponents – mainly Pakistan – on the steel of his determination head dominated by bright eyes of Shame as the leader of the Liam Henry. and a huge grin, you got an ink- ling that the world was meeting someone special. And then when he spoke, shy but still confi dent, about doing WA’s Robbo sets record at Sunset the best he could off the fi eld SURFING to do at the time. as on it, about wanting to be a “There was a big buildup role model for non-indigenous By CAMERON BEDFORDBROWNb and so many things go into this. as well as indigenous kids from “It’s what you think about the Kimberley, I sat up straight WA surfer Jack Robinson every day.” and paid close attention. has defi ed the odds and heavy Robinson’s wave selection There’s his gratitude for the pressure to qualify for the and peak positioning is un- sponsors of his scholarship to World Championship Tour by matched in the modern era at Christchurch Grammar, my old fabled Sunset. school foes in Claremont. winning the Vans World Cup There’s the indigenous tie of Surfi ng at Sunset Beach. “He’s a bit of a savant, in the matrix,” said WSL commentator business he’s started while Robinson got tubed and still at school with his two close Ross Williams. carved power turns taking over mates, fellow Freo draftee Isaiah Robinson said he had been the line-up with a dominant Butters and Dontay Bolton, working hard and getting things performance despite almost called Tied to Culture, with a being cleaved in half by fellow clear in his mind about his portion of the money made going fi nalist Hawaiian Ezekiel Lau quest to join the elite ranks. to charity. who ran him over. Long-drawn-out bottom turns The hard work’s only just be- The WA lad may well be the with lots of rail in the water and ginning for Liam and his fellow best surfer to grace the Sunset snapping into rifl ing barrels is draftees. Peak and writes his name into what Robinson does best. There’s years of grind, build- the history books with another On fi re in the fi nal with two ing the strength and endurance incredible performance at the nines and a 19.07 heat total out and honing the skills and game break. of 20, it was the highest score plan you need to survive in the Robbo, as he is affectionately in the long illustrious history big time. known, couldn’t have timed his of the event. There’s the shock of getting last-ditch run better, taking the “It’s the Jack Robinson show,” belted around by battle-hard- fi nal available qualifi cation chimed in another WSL com- ened men who aren’t going to spot for the WCT. mentator, Chris Cote. give a stripling like Liam any “Finally boy, fi nally,” he cried Robbo keeps it pretty low-pro, leave passes. out while being triumphantly as the kids say, and he’s popular There’s the media focus, the chaired up the beach knowing in the surfi ng world for being temptations of the fl esh, the he’d qualifi ed for the champi- a hard-core tube pig. psychological pressures to deal onship tour. Arguably the best tube rider with. “I wanted to claim it and in the world, he will be one But after what we all saw on stamp it,” he said. tough “rookie” at the hollow draft night, I, and thousands “Sunset threw me a lucky breaks on the WCT tour, such WA’s Jack Robinson on his way to victory at Sunset Beach and a spot of others, really hope this kid charm and I did what I needed as Pipeline, Chopes and G-Land. on the World Championship Tour . Photo: WSL/Heff becomes something special.