David Warner for Prime Minister?

In a revealing interview, David and Candice Warner discuss scandals, homeschooling – and why, as he looks to wind up his cricketing career, politics might be his next move.

Given that cricket players who represent Australia are often considered to hold the most important post in the country second only to the Prime Minister, it is little surprise that Stellar’s discussion with batsman David Warner and his wife Candice quickly turns into a discussion about politics.

The couple, who live in Sydney, are currently negotiating life in lockdown from the apartment they are sharing with their three daughters – Ivy, 6, Indi, 5, and two-year-old Isla – and a new puppy named Cookie, while they put the finishing touches on the waterfront dream home they have been building for the past four years in the Harbour City.

Candice admits that being in lockdown has sometimes been frazzling.

“Like every other household, you have your good days and bad days,” she says.

“You have days when you sort of think, is it bedtime yet? But we’re doing OK.”

“We both come from working-class families, so if we can raise our kids to appreciate the value of money, friendship and to have a good heart, then we’ve done our job.” Picture: Steven Chee

As for David, whose pre-pandemic life saw him spending more time trotting the globe to play cricket than he often was at home, the extended period of being grounded in one place has given him time to reflect on the state of the nation – and it’s got him fired up.

“I don’t know a lot about policies, but I’m sick of the bullsh*t that [politicians] want to try to throw,” the 34-year-old tells Stellar.

“As you know, I love being part of a team. But when you’ve got state premiers who don’t want to work as a team and are throwing others under the bus, it’s not a great look for a country. It’s showing we are divided.

“How are you supposed to teach your kids the importance of working together when our leaders aren’t?”

And in a surprising revelation, Warner says he is not opposed to entering politics when the time comes to hang up the baggy green.

“My days as a cricket player are numbered, and the past two years have been like a bit of a sense of retirement for everyone. Being out in the middle, being part of the team, is what I value. So I look forward to continuing to do that, at least for the next couple of years,” David starts, before adding, “A lot of people do say that I should look at politics. From where I sit in my life, I love global politics. And I do love the sense of helping people.”

“Yes, you’re going to have a few failures and make some mistakes. But it’s how you rebound that’s important.” Picture: Steven Chee

Warner admits he has learnt more by homeschooling his daughter Ivy than he did in any classroom, smiling as he points out: “She was teaching me about [Australian geologist and Antarctic explorer] Sir Douglas Mawson the other day.”

Cricket, of course, has been his university. Earlier this year, while playing in the Indian Premier League, David found himself one of a handful of Australian cricketers left stranded after the government temporarily banned citizens from returning from India after Covid wreaked havoc on the population there.

“In Delhi, you would look out the window and see people taking out their [deceased] loved ones to ambulances that would take them to burial sites. It was very, very confronting,” he recalls, adding that the pictures of mass grave sites being beamed around the world frightened his children.

“I was trying to tell them that I was lucky, [that] I was in a bubble. But they didn’t understand that. Indi would ring me crying. It hurt me, because you don’t want to see your daughter cry.”

For Candice, who pre-Covid would usually travel with David on his tours, trying to comfort the girls posed a different sort of challenge.

“We knew that Dave was in a safe environment, but having young kids, you sort of think that they’re going to be oblivious. But it was the first time that they really took notice of things. Especially Indi,” she says.

“It affected her quite badly not having her dad around. And as a mother, you’re always trying to protect your family and trying to just live as normal a life back home as possible.”

Candice Warner commentates for the men’s triathlon at the Tokyo Olympics in July. Picture: Supplied

David Warner bats during day four of the Sheffield Shield match between South Australia and New South Wales at Adelaide Oval in March. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

“So when he finally came home, the girls were waiting at the window. And they ran out to him and the embrace was just so much more emotional than usual.”

The two say it is their daughters who have helped them weather so many of life’s challenges in the past several years, particularly the 2018 ball-tampering revelation that became a national scandal.

“No matter what’s going on in your world, to your kids you’re still Mum and Dad, and you still have to play that role,” Candice says.

“They’ve definitely helped us get through so many phases and stages of our lives. Because you can’t dwell on things too much; you don’t have time.”

The former ironwoman adds that while her athletic background taught her to be resilient and hardworking, it was her appearance on last year’s debut season of SAS Australia – where she spoke openly about her treatment in the media following the 2007 “toilet tryst” that made headlines – that taught her to be vulnerable. She says she felt a shift in how the public perceived her.

“I guess I’ve always felt slightly misunderstood and I’ve never really had the voice or the courage to tell my story,” she says.

“When he finally came home, the girls were waiting at the window. And they ran out to him and the embrace was just so much more emotional than usual.” Picture: Instagram

“So I just became a closed book. But I think the biggest thing that I gained from [doing the show] was knowing that it’s OK to be vulnerable. I was always in protection mode: trying to protect my husband, to protect my kids, to protect my family. I felt I needed to be tough, to not show emotion.

“I needed to just soldier on. But it’s really heavy doing that, so it was really enlightening to be able to let people in.”

Her husband of six years, who thinks she should have won the show, adds: “If today’s [media] mentality [existed] 10 or 15 years ago, she would never be subjected to what she was. But she’s an exceptional person and she’s always trying to look at the positive. And she may not be the person she is today if that wasn’t put upon her.”

Candice’s TV career recently culminated in another personal high when she commentated for the triathlon during the Tokyo Olympics.

“I loved it,” the 36-year-old enthuses.

“Sport is my first love, but my sport was never an Olympic sport. I never got the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. So to be able to do the commentary was something that I’ll never forget.

“And David played such a great role. I was out really early doing the commentary, so he was at home with the girls and they got to hear me read.”

The two are also committed to enjoying family cricket games, TikTok dances and a Father’s Day spent in lockdown before David takes off again for a summer of cricket, which includes the all-important Ashes series.

They are also eagerly anticipating the long-awaited move into their new home, which is just a few minutes’ drive from where David grew up in a housing commission. It will be a particularly poignant moment for him.

The Warners star on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar.

“I saw a lot of stuff,” he says.

“I’d see robberies, domestic violence, people who had been killed. I remember I was 13 years old, going to my local park, and there was a person who had killed themself on the swings.

“These things come back to me in hard moments. I’m grateful for how I grew up because it’s taught me how to be the person I am now.

“I’m so grateful for what I have and my kids have. I mean, I’m so fortunate that my kids are able to do gymnastics and tennis, when my parents couldn’t even afford to buy me a cricket bat. My uncle did that.

“So that’s the message both Candice and I want to keep putting out there: that hard work pays off. Yes, you’re going to have a few failures and make some mistakes. But it’s about how you rebound that’s important.”

Adds Candice: “David and I both come from really working-class families, so we understand the value of things. So if we can raise our kids to appreciate the value of money, the value of friendship and teach them to have a good heart, a good work ethic and be respectful, then we’ve done our job as parents.”

Originally published as David Warner for Prime Minister?