Emotional SCG scenes proof David Warner has finally redeemed himself

The cricket world has stood in awe, and maybe a little bit of guilt, as the SCG produced scenes that were unthinkable just a few years ago.

David Warner has walked off the SCG in style, smacking 57 to help Australia seal a series whitewash against Pakistan.

Over 20,000 people turned out to the iconic ground on day four even with the game looking to end around lunch. Such is the pull of Warner. He has often referred to cricket as the “entertainment industry” and Kerry O’Keeffe said he had a great feel for theatre.

The BBL is back! Watch every match live with no ad breaks during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

Warner knew the public turned out to see him playing his natural brand of aggressive cricket and he didn’t disappoint.

While he didn’t get the privilege of swatting the winning runs, he departed Test cricket the way he entered and gave everyone a reminder of what the team will miss in coming years.

For many of his strongest critics, it was surprising to see the majority of the SCG on their feet screaming for the 37-year-old, given his controversial involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal.

The tiresome fiasco has forever tarnished Warner’s legacy for those who believe he ruined the reputation of Australian cricket alongside Steve Smith, who was captain at the time.

Thousands stood to farewell Warner in his final Test.

There is still a lot of talk over whether Warner threw Cameron Bancroft, the young player who hid sandpaper in his pants at Newlands, under the bus.

But if you flew over the SCG this afternoon, you’d be convinced those demons have been buried.

Pakistan gave him not one but two guards of honour this match, one in each innings. Even the umpires had joined in as well as a show of respect to Warner.

Thousands spilled over the fence and surrounded Warner’s final send-off at the post match presentation in scenes we haven’t witnessed for a retiring player in many years.

At the end of the road, it appears true cricket fans (stats nerds) have been able to accept Warner’s mistakes and hail him as one of the greatest ever to pull on a Baggy Green.

Even for a more reserved player, 112 Tests, a 45 average in both red ball and one-day cricket, 49 international hundreds and 94 half-centuries across three formats speak of a player who stayed at the forefront of the game for years.

Loudest reaction I have ever heard for a batter scoring two to get off the mark.

— Rick Eyre on cricket 🕊️ (@rickeyrecricket) January 6, 2024

Not often do umpires join in a guard of honour for a retiring star. But tells you that David Warner the Test batter will be missed by everyone on the field #AusvPakpic.twitter.com/WbOwaLy5JB

— Bharat Sundaresan (@beastieboy07) January 6, 2024

But it’s the way Warner went about things that will grow his legacy in decades to come. Entering the side as a bona fide slogger in 2011, many were quick to dismiss him as a bull-headed, one-gear liability.

He now ends his career as one of the few players in the last 20 years to begin in T20 and grow to dominate the longer formats.

Almost six years after the South African scandal, Warner has reemerged as a vital senior member of the team. He gave up drinking, started a family, trained harder and kept his fitness at a level that pushed the rest of the team out in the middle.

Earlier this week, he spoke of how much time has passed since the early days of his career. He has morphed from the hot headed opener who punched Joe Root in June 2013 into a man who is nervous about admitting he brought a couple of bottles of wine to his final day of Test cricket.

“I think a lot of people don’t get to see or meet or know the person. From when I first started, I was that chirpy little fella that was out there,” Warner said.

“That was my role in the team. my role in the team was to go out there and get under the batter’s skin and the opposition’s skin and yeah, it did boost me a little bit because they came at me when I batted.

If someone had told you this is the sort of reception David Warner would get after what happened in 2018, you probably wouldn't have believed them.

But it's a credit to the respect he has earned back in recent years that he gets the farewell his career deserves. #AUSvPAKpic.twitter.com/OvycYs5kwr

— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) January 6, 2024

Nobody did it like David Warner.

A fitting farewell at the @scg to a giant of our game! pic.twitter.com/iTiD4Ex2mK

— Cricket Australia (@CricketAus) January 6, 2024

“But they saw it early days. and I think your first impression, you don’t get a second chance at that and you know, I’ve tried to rebuild that trust and faith.

“I went two years where I was being called the Reverend, I stopped drinking for two and a half years and really enjoyed that time,” he said.

“I think people wanted the old bull back, but for me, it was going out there and playing with pride and passion, and there’s other ways to go about it. I’ve toned it down a hell of a lot and that’s the real person that I am.

“I think the game’s changed a lot as well, you’re playing with a lot of the guys you’re playing against, there’s no need to go out there and be really chirpy and aggressive, there’s other ways to do that.

“If I had my time again and I knew that, I probably would show a little bit more patience with myself and I’d bite my tongue a little bit more.”

As for his last innings, Warner said it was everything he could have dreamed of.

Fans spilled over the fence and surrounded Warner’s final send-off at the post match presentation in scenes we haven’t witnessed for a retiring player in many years.

“You win 3-0 and to cap off what has been a great 12 months for the Australian cricket team, World Test Championship, Ashes draw and the World Cup and to finish 3-0 here is an outstanding achievement and I’m proud to be with a bunch of great cricketers,”

Warner said on the field.

Ricky Ponting, no stranger to emotional retirements, said the reality wouldn’t have set in for Warner and his teammates, many of which he has played alongside for years with multiple Ashes wins and World Cup triumphs.

“I’m surprised if he’s got a dry eye. I know when my mate here (Justin Langer) retired in 2007, the moment he walked off the ground I had to put my sunglasses on because I knew I would cry watching him walk off the ground,” Ponting said on Channel 7.

3-0.

“There would be a few of his teammates doing the same.

“We saw real emotion from him walking onto the ground before the game, there was a lot of emotion from him before the game in an interview where he was actually holding back tears.

“The realisation now that such a long, distinguished Test career is coming to an end probably hasn’t hit him just yet. When he sits back in the changerooms tonight and has his first beer with the boys, that’s when it will start to sink in.”

Warner’s departure now gives Australia 10 days to figure out who will fill his boots at the top of the order before the first Test against the West Indies in Adelaide.

Originally published as Emotional SCG scenes proof David Warner has finally redeemed himself