Disgraced duo Steve Smith and David Warner make emotional returns to grade cricket
DAVID Warner has smashed an emotional century in his grade cricket comeback, while deposed Aussie skipper Steve Smith had an equally impressive return from the ball-tampering scandal.
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DAVID Warner’s mother shed tears as he walked out to bat at Coogee Oval yesterday, laying bare the human side of cricket stars in exile.
The suburban surrounds were a million miles from the Australian dressing room, but with his tight-knit family out in full force, Warner made a rousing unbeaten hundred for Randwick-Petersham as meaningful as perhaps any in his entire career.
Across town Steve Smith posted a stoic 85 in front of new wife, Dani and father Peter, who famously stood by his son during that unforgettable heart-wrenching press conference.
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But behind the scenes, the emotional impact the turmoil has taken on the Warner clan has been just as profound.
Lorraine and Howard Warner raised their two sons in a housing commission flat in Matraville. When David hit the big time, just about the first thing he did was buy them a house.
Yesterday the Warners, wife Candice and his two daughters rallied around the boy from the ‘burbs and he repaid their loyalty with an emotion-charged celebration of his first century since South Africa.
A family member had to put a supportive arm around Mrs Warner as she broke down watching her son take his first steps towards redemption.
“It’s emotional. After all the crap we’ve been through … There’s a lot of us here. Family, friends, the whole lot. We are close,” father, Howard Warner told The Daily Telegraph.
“I don’t know, it just might be a bit of a statement.
“It was tough on us initially. To be quite honest, we were more worried about Candice but she’s tough as nails anyhow, so she’s OK.
“He’s lived through it and he’s coming out the other end hopefully.”
Warner didn’t give a chance as he saw off Test spearhead Josh Hazlewood on his way to an emphatic unbeaten 155 that featured two sixes smashed onto Arden street.
“It was a petty special knock,” said Hazlewood in his own return from injury.
“Sometimes when it’s a setting like this and you’ve got close friends and family, they’re your most enjoyable moments.”
Randwick-Petersham won off the very last ball with Warner carrying his bat against a quality attack also featuring former Test bowler Trent Copeland.
He couldn’t wear his customary No.31 shirt because it was the wrong size, so it was No.22 out of the kit bag yesterday for Warner.
At lunch he signed autographs as Hazlewood lined up at the canteen for a sandwich – just in time too because the ladies had sold out of everything by mid-afternoon.
Sydney Roosters coach Trent Robinson turned up for a look on the morning of his team’s preliminary final against South Sydney.
And straight after a shower Warner was on his way to Allianz to watch the beloved tri-colours side he was asked by Robinson to address earlier in the year.
Over at Glenn McGrath Oval in Caringbah, the canteen sold over 500 sausage sandwiches with more than 2000 fans turning up to watch former Australian captain, Smith bat on home soil for the first time since his life was torn apart.
Smith posed with fans for the entirety of his half-hour lunch-break and while he is still banned from captaincy for two more years, former Test teammate Shane Watson says it was clear public sentiment has turned and the 28-year-old could once again reach those heights.
“It’s awesome to see him playing. I’d prefer that he was playing for Australia but the support that he got – you could see how warm the applause was when he scored runs,” said Watson.
“This is not the first steps (back to the Test captaincy), I think the first steps have happened already.”
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