Former Australia head coach John Buchanan has expressed the view that David Warner falls short of being categorized as a true great of the game. Despite acknowledging the left-hander’s exceptional performances and contributions, Buchanan claims that David Warner has not achieved anything unparalleled in the sport.
Warner recently retired from Test and ODI cricket, amassing over 15,000 runs and establishing himself as one of Australia’s key match-winners. In his final Test series against Pakistan, Warner concluded with a half-century in the last innings and a notable 164 in the series opener, contributing to Australia’s 3-0 series victory.
David Warner is not in the category of great batters- John Buchanan
In a conversation with SEN Breakfast, Buchanan asserted that individuals like Don Bradman, Glenn McGrath, and Shane Warne are the ones deserving of the categorization as cricketing greats. The 70-year-old elaborated on his viewpoint,
“I think he’s certainly performed exceptionally well throughout this career, he sits on 8000+ runs, he’s played over 100 Test matches, over 160 ODIs, and nearly 100 T20s. On a performance base, he’s right up there,” said John Buchanan.
“But greats of the game, in my opinion, are people that really do and have done something exceptional that others just can’t match, so, therefore, you automatically go to the Bradmans, McGraths, Warnes, they’re the greats in my opinion. Others come close, but are just not in that category and I don’t see Warner in that category,” he added.
The southpaw played a pivotal role in Australia’s triumphs in ODI World Cups in 2015 and 2019 and their lone World T20 title victory in 2021.
Hopefully the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps- David Warner
Warner expressed optimistically that youngsters can see him as an inspiration and follow in his path. Warner played a well deserved farewell test match at his home ground in Sydney. In his final innings in test cricket, Warner scored 57 runs.
At the post-match presentation of his final Test, Warner expressed his desire for young cricketers to emulate his dedication to red-ball cricket. When asked on how he would like to be remembered as David Warner replied,
“Exciting, Entertaining, and I hope I put a smile on everyone’s face with the way that I played and hopefully the young kids out there can follow in my footsteps. White-ball cricket to Test cricket. It’s the pinnacle of our sport. So keep working hard to play the red-ball game because it’s entertaining as well,” said David Warner.
Australia undoubtedly faces a challenging task in identifying a suitable replacement for the opener across various formats.