David Warner takes down Steve Waugh record amid 'horrible' act in Boxing Day Test
The Aussie opener made some remarkable Aussie cricket history despite a disappointing dismissal.
David Warner has become the second-highest Australian run-scorer in all formats of international cricket, moving past Steve Waugh. Warner scored 38 on Tuesday on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test and looked rather scratchy.
He was given a reprieve on two when Abdullah Shafique dropped a simple chance at first slip, and was eventually dismissed after playing a poor shot against part-time spinner Agha Salman on the final ball before lunch. But despite the disappointing dismissal, Warner managed to achieve some remarkable Australian cricket history.
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His 38 runs took him to a career total of 18,515 across all three formats of international cricket (Test, ODI and T20) and past Steve Waugh (18,496) into second all-time amongst Australians. Despite now being second, Warner has a monumental task if he hopes to catch Ricky Ponting's all-time Aussie record.
The former captain amassed a whopping 27,368 runs across his legendary career, and with Warner set to retire from Test cricket after the next match at the SCG his chances are slim. However the 37-year-old has flagged his intentions of playing on in ODI and T20 cricket for Australia.
David Warner called out over 'horrible' shot in second Test
Speaking after stumps on Tuesday, Warner paid credit to Pakistan's bowlers. "Another wicket less would have been great, but credit to the way Pakistan bowled," he said. "They bowled unbelievable channels. The way (Mir) Hamza bowled around the wicket at the end there it was like bowling with a Duke ball."
Speaking in commentary for Fox Sports, Mark Waugh was highly critical of Warner's shot to get out. “That’s a horrible shot, there’s no other way to describe that,” he said. “He’d be so disappointed to get out to that delivery. It was asking for trouble.”
Ian Smith said on SEN radio: “He looks out of sorts David Warner. He can’t really get his timing. He is working overtime here. He just can’t get his rhythm going. He looks fidgety. He doesn’t look as if he’s got his balance right.”
Pakistan pacemen Shaheen Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Hamza and Hasan Ali were able to produce significantly more swing and seam movement than they did in Perth, where they lost the first Test of the Benaud-Qadir series by 360 runs. "We are a bit (unlucky) we haven't got enough wickets but the best thing is we did not give them enough runs," Ali said. "So I think we are a bit ahead of them."
Justin Langer was highly critical of Shafique's gaffe at first slip to give Warner a lifeline in the second over of the match. "That's as easy a catch that you'll ever see in Test cricket," Langer said in commentary on the Seven Network. "That's an impossible catch to drop. While he'll feel sick about it, it's not acceptable at international level."
Most runs for Australia in international cricket (as of December 26:
Ricky Ponting - 27,368
David Warner -18,498 (still playing)
Steve Waugh - 18,496
Allan Border - 17,698
Michael Clarke - 17,112
with AAP
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