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A frustrated and ‘exhausted’ David Warner says he will have to work to stay cool next summer as he prepares to fly to India after rain ruined any chance he and the Sydney Thunder had of staying alive in the BBL.
Warner’s eventful summer officially came to an end on Friday night when the Brisbane Heat eliminated his Thunder from the Big Bash finals.
The match ended in controversy, decided by Duckworth-Lewis due to persistent Sydney rain, a system which Warner suggested needed to be reviewed for T20 matches.
Warner was hitting and in fine form for the Thunder in their elimination finale until rain ended his innings and his tournament.
The first test game was at 36 not out when rain ended the Thunder’s chances to complete their innings, eight runs short of the DLS method victory.
Warner was confident they would have chased the Heat’s mammoth field record of 5-203 if the rain hadn’t intervened.
‘That was probably some of the best turf they’ve ever produced here. We know that naturally when the spray comes in it slides off very well. It is a pity that it rained a little. He put a stop to everything,’ he said.
‘It was quite achievable. It was going to be more difficult for me with the longer pockets, so they probably would have bowled to the wicket and tried to run that way. It is what it is.
“There was nothing on the radar at the time and it was pretty spread out when they looked at it. There was no wind out there so as you saw with the smoke (from the pre-game fireworks) it didn’t blow away either.
‘It’s frustrating, and I don’t know if Duckworth-Lewis also takes the surge and how many runs they got out of it.
‘There are a lot of things they have to look at when they’re refitting those things, but to be fair, we were chasing over 200.
“They were 1-46 at the same time, so I don’t know if they have to look at it that way with T20 cricket as well, but overall, it’s unfortunate that it rained.”
Australia’s David Warner celebrates a double century in the second Test against South Africa this summer. He will expect similar results on the India tour.
Warner won’t have much time to reflect with the first Test against India just 12 days away. It’s been a hectic schedule for the veteran and he admitted to feeling fatigued.
Starting in August, Warner played in the white ball series against Zimbabwe, New Zealand, England and the West Indies, in every game of Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign, in every Test game of the home series against the West Indies and South Africa. and then coached six BBL games in his return to the tournament.
“It’s been a challenge,” Warner said.
I’m pretty tired, exhausted.
Warner looks on during a rain delay in the Big Bash League knockout final between the Sydney Thunder and the Brisbane Heat at the Sydney Showground
India’s rough turf lies in wait, as does the challenge of finding consistent form with the bat after a test summer that yielded a memorable double century and a string of unconvincing strikes.
While his results have not lived up to his billing, the opener said his intention had never been to use the BBL cameo to prepare for the longer format in India.
“You’re not really trying to deny the spinning ball, it’s also a cue ball,” Warner said of the BBL.
“For me, it was about coming back and trying to inject some energy into the Thunder team and trying to do my best for the team.”
It hasn’t come out this year.
Warner is contracted for one more summer with the Thunder and will arrive at the tournament thanks to an ODI World Cup in India, and possibly after an equally busy home Test summer if he is still playing and drafted.
“Hopefully next year I can go out there and be a little bit fresher than I am right now,” he said.
‘It will be a long prelude to our summer.
“From a personal standpoint, I’m going to have to try and figure out how to stay nice and cool.”