Ponting: World will see ‘different’ David Warner after retirement

Ricky Ponting believes the world will see a different David Warner when he retires and says the toll the ball tampering scandal has taken on him should not be taken for granted.

Ricky Ponting believes the world will see a different David Warner when he retires and says the toll the ball tampering scandal has taken on him should not be taken for granted.

Warner continued his barnstorming start to his international swansong at this World Cup with a clinical 53 not out off just 35 balls in Australia’s hefty 28-run win on DLS over Bangladesh in Antigua.

It was Warner’s eighth T20 World Cup half century and has put the rampaging Aussies above India on net run rate to lead Group 1 heading into the next Super 8s clash against Afghanistan on Sunday morning AEST.

Warner opened up in an interview earlier this week about his personal anguish at always being a lightning rod for criticism from the public, but Ponting has forecast cricket fans will see a side to the polarising opener in retirement that they’ve never seen before.

ANTIGUA, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA - JUNE 18: David Warner of Australia during a net session as part of the ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 at Coolidge Cricket Ground on June 18, 2024 in Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“I can understand it and to be honest he probably has copped more of it than anybody else,” Ponting said.

“He’s got reasonably thick skin. He can take most things really well. But for him to come out and say it has affected him the way that it has, we should never take that stuff for granted.

“The things that happen on cricket fields, the impact they can have, not just on the player, but families as well, there’s always a bigger picture to it all.

“It’s not just about the individual, I think he and (Warner’s wife) Candice have spoken about that over a long period of time, from that one (ball tampering) incident and other things in their day-to-day life as well.

“I’ve heard a lot from Davey recently about people making judgments about him from the way they see him play his cricket, and I think now that he’s starting to wind down, I think we’re all starting to see a slightly different side to him.

David Warner has been in blistering form at the T20 Cricket World Cup. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

“Even opposition players and opposition teams are starting to see a different side to Davey that most of us have known for a long period of time.

“I guess we all do it. I was probably the same. When I was captain and playing I didn’t give too much away.

“The helmet on, helmet off sort of syndrome. When you’re playing you’ve got the helmet on all the time and you’re very guarded.

“I think we’ve seen with Davey once he’s retired and he makes that next step of life into the media (commentating on Fox Cricket), you’ll see a totally different side to him.”

There were question marks towards the end of the IPL over whether Warner was injured or had been dropped

Australia's David Warner celebrates after scoring a half-century against Bangladesh. Picture: AFP

Ponting coaches Warner at Delhi and revealed the hand injury the 37-year-old picked up on the eve of the World Cup was far worse than he let on.

Yet Warner has shaken off that poor preparation and once again proved he saves his best for the big international stage.

“He actually started the IPL really well. The first four or five games he got us off to some really good starts and was unlucky to get out in three or four of those games,” Ponting said.