Cricket: Cricket-Warner ton silences critics as actions speak louder than words

PERTH (Reuters) – Australia opener David Warner celebrated his 26th test century on Thursday by ‘shushing’ the Perth media box, silencing his critics after putting his side in a strong position on day one of the first test against Pakistan.

The hosts ended the day on 346-5 from 84 overs after batting first, with Usman Khawaja (41) and Travis Head (40) also making contributions, but Warner’s fiery 164 off 211 balls stole the show.

“I was disappointed with getting out, we could have been four down at the end there. But it’s up to the selectors, if they want to keep continuing to pick me then I ain’t leaving,” Warner joked to reporters.

Warner upper cut debutant seamer Aamer Jamal (2-63) for four in the 43rd over to bring up three figures.

The 37-year-old is now all but certain to play his final test in front of a home crowd in Sydney, a goal which he stated publicly in June amid a lean period in red-ball cricket which had seen him score only two centuries since the start of 2020.

His white-ball form never wavered, however, helping Australia to a sixth 50-over World Cup title this year in India as the team’s leading scorer with 535 tournament runs.

Warner’s spot in the test side and his desire for a home farewell had been a subject of scrutiny, and former team mate-turned-columnist for The West Australian newspaper, Mitchell Johnson, had queried his continued selection in a recent column.

“Anyone who wants to write stories about me, get headlines, that stuff doesn’t bother me,” Warner said after the close of play.

“I’m allowed to celebrate how I want,” he added, labelling his century celebration gesture as a “a nice little quiet shush”.

Warner harassed Pakistan’s seam attack during the first session, outrageously hitting fast-bowler Shaheen Afridi for six over fine leg in a sign of what was still to come.

Surpassing former greats Matthew Hayden (8625) and Michael Clarke (8643) to become Australia’s fifth-highest test run-scorer with 8651, Warner added a further three sixes during his aggressive and determined innings — albeit with a dose of luck.

A dropped catch and a missed stumping to spinner Agha Salman allowed the left-hander to pass 150 before he eventually miscued Jamal to Imam-ul-Haq at backward square.

“I am getting older … it’s probably game-by-game now. If I fail next innings there’ll probably be headlines, but it is what it is.”

(Reporting by Joel Dubber in Perth; Editing by Toby Davis)