Melbourne: Age and fatherhood may have mellowed David Warner, but nothing coaxes the old ‘Bull’ out of the Australia vice-captain like a home Ashes series.
Warner’s clarion call this week to summon ‘hatred’ for visiting England continued the revival of a once-famed chirpiness that cranked back into gear during the long-running pay dispute between the players and Cricket Australia.
It signalled another nail in the coffin for the ‘Reverend’, the nickname bestowed upon Warner in a pious nod to his quieter demeanour on and off the field in recent seasons.
Prior to the ‘Reverend’, there was only the ‘Bull’, a moniker that aptly captured his rampaging ways, whether swinging his over-sized bat in the middle, firing off an angry tweet in the early hours, or throwing a punch at England’s Joe Root.
“At the moment I’m not going to put any vibes out there or get into a verbal stoush,” Warner said on Australian radio, only moments after describing the series as ‘war’.
“But come day one when we walk out there, there will definitely be some words exchanged.” Warner’s salvo has already ruffled feathers in England, with former opener Marcus Trescothick showing his disdain.
