David Warner backed by teammate to succeed as captain
Aug 26, 2016 at 10:52 AM
The entire cricketing fraternity was in for a rude shock when Australian skipper Steve Smith suddenly withdrew from the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka. In a bid to remain fit and upbeat for the hectic season to follow, Smith chose to opt out of the series. In Smith’s absence, swashbuckling opener David Warner was named the captain for the remaining ODI’s and the subsequent T20I series to follow.
Warner has had a fruitful experience at captaincy, as he led the Sunrisers Hyderabad to IPL glory in May 2016. Warner as a skipper displayed aggressive traits as he backed his bowlers time and again and that trust was eventually repaid. Warner’s Sunrisers teammate and fellow Aussie Ben Cutting backed the southpaw to succeed as a skipper and recalled some of their IPL memories.
“It doesn’t matter what team he’s playing in. He could be captaining grade cricket back in Sydney, I think he’s still going to be the same person regardless of what team he’s leading. “And that can only be a really good thing,” Cutting said, in a chat with cricket.com.au. “He’s pretty much the David Warner we get to see when he’s playing for Australia,” Cutting said. “He’s direct and to the point. “When David Warner speaks, everybody listens because the experience he’s got behind him is one of a kind and pretty special.”
Cutting reiterated the fact that Warner was a bowlers captain. “He’s a bowler’s captain. He’ll let you set whatever field you want and let you back yourself, no matter how out there your field can be at times in a Twenty20. So it’s pretty good having him in your corner. “He’s always in and around the ring near the bowler to bounce ideas off and will move fielders here and there a little bit. But ultimately it’s up to the bowler and he fully backs you 100 per cent, which is what you want in a captain.”