‘Important to give back’: David Warner signs for Sydney Thunder in landmark deal

David Warner will make his long-awaited return to the Big Bash League this summer, signing for the Sydney Thunder on a two-year deal.

David Warner of the Sydney Thunder. Picture: Ian Bird/CNSW

Australian cricketer David Warner will make his long-awaited return to the Big Bash League this summer, signing for the Sydney Thunder on a two-year deal to effectively replace Test opening partner Usman Khawaja in the club’s roster.

The veteran batter has not played a BBL match in nine years, with international commitments blocking the talented left-hander from appearing in the popular domestic T20 competition.

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But after South Africa withdrew from this summer’s ODI series against Australia, a window opened for the country’s international talent to play some Big Bash cricket in January.

Last month, reports emerged that Warner had snubbed the BBL and signed for the newly-introduced ILT20 competition — a high-paying tournament in the United Arab Emirates.

But in a massive boost for the BBL, Cricket Australia has convinced Warner, arguably Australia’s most successful T20 cricketer, to ply his trade on home soil this summer in a landmark signing.

The 35-year-old is expected to be available for five regular season matches with the Thunder following Australia’s three-Test series against South Africa, which concludes in early January.

According to ESPNcricinfo, Warner’s deal is worth approximately $340,000, a portion of which comes from the Thunder’s $1.9 million salary cap and the rest from a marketing deal with CA.

Speaking to reporters at the newly-developed Cricket Central in Sydney Olympic Park, Warner claimed his family played a huge role in choosing the Big Bash over the ILT20 and South Africa’s privately-owned domestic T20 competition.

However, he confessed that his young daughters — Ivy Mae, Indi Rae and Isla Rose — wanted him to sign for cross-town rivals, the Sydney Sixers.

“A big part of it was the girls; they’d never seen me play Big Bash,” he explained.

“I’m all about family, and obviously the Big Bash is all about family.”

David Warner with his wife, Candice, and their kids. Picture: Ian Bird/CNSW.

Earlier this year, Channel 7 launched Federal Court action against CA in a bid to terminate its TV rights deal — the free-to-air broadcaster was adamant last summer’s BBL was not of a high enough quality for the competition to meet the standard provisions stipulated in CA’s TV rights contract.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, CA is investing approximately $8 million in the Big Bash this season to maintain the competition’s value ahead of the broadcast rights negotiations.

Warner’s signature adds some much-needed box office appeal to the T20 league, which has lost some of its appeal since Channel 7 secured the broadcast rights in 2018 — Australian teammates Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith have already signalled they won’t be playing Big Bash cricket this summer.

“I know that Cricket Australia and all the other players and the future generation will benefit from me playing,” Warner told reporters.

“I’m almost at the back end of my career. I don’t know how much time I’ve got left. So for me, it’s important to give back for the future of our game and make sure it’s in a great place come the new domestic TV rights deal.

“These franchise cricket teams do come hard at you, but at the end of the day, it’s upon myself to give back and make sure that our next generation is actually following in my footsteps and the rest of the other guys.

“Hopefully I can put some bums on seats and entertain as much as I can.”

David Warner hits Shane Warne into the crowd for a six.

Warner, one of Australia’s most marketable cricketers, was the Big Bash League’s first centurion, scoring an unbeaten 102 in the Thunder’s first-ever game against the Melbourne Stars at the MCG in December 2011.

He has only played two BBL matches in the 11 years since.

Warner is the fourth highest run-scorer in T20 history with 10,870 at 38.27, but most of those runs have come overseas.

He was named Player of the Tournament during Australia’s triumphant T20 World Cup camping in the United Arab Emirates last year.

“Davey’s record on the field speaks for itself and I have no doubt he already has, and will continue to, inspire many, many kids to play and love cricket,” Thunder coach Bayliss said in a statement.

“He is also a passionate and committed family man and that aligns very well with Thunder’s culture and the family nature of the Thunder Nation supporters.

“The club has a tremendous group of young talented batters and leaders, with the likes of Jason Sangha, Ollie Davies, Matt Gilkes and Baxter Holt. They will all benefit greatly from Davey’s experience and guidance.”

Warner is currently banned from any leadership positions in the Big Bash League due to his role in the infamous Cape Town ball-tampering saga in 2018.

However, there are growing calls for the former Australian captain’s ban to be overturned, most notably from Test captain Pat Cummins and the legendary Allan Border.

Warner, who captained the Thunder in 2011, said the CA Board had not discussed scrapping the leadership ban with him yet.

“I’ve said plenty of times off the record that it’s upon the Board to reach out to me and open their doors and I can sit down and have an honest conversation with him,” he said.

“A lot has changed since back in 2018 and when all those sanctions were dealt, so it’d be great to have a conversation with him and see where we’re at.”

David Warner speaking at Sydney Olympic Park. Picture: Ian Bird/CNSW

Warner is currently preparing for Australia’s upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Queensland, which gets underway at Townsville’s Riverway Stadium on Sunday, 28 August.

The one-day series kickstarts a chaotic 18-month period for the national men’s team, highlighted by a T20 World Cup on home soil, a Test tour of India, an overseas Ashes series and a World Cup campaign in India.

“It’s challenging to play all three forms,” Warner confessed.

“The schedule looking forward the next five years is scary. I’m glad I’m at the back end because it’s very, very difficult.

“A lot of the guys have young families as well, that makes it difficult. There are also going to be players who are going to not be able to play every series for Australia, which is going to be disappointing.

“It’s very difficult at this level to try and compete 80-90 games a year. You factor in one travel day, one training day, that’s a lot of days of cricket.

”But look, there’s going to be ways of trying to implement things where guys can actually participate in that. And I think that’s what’s going to drive the future growth of the BBL.”