"All You Want Is Crowd": David Warner Unwilling To Play Behind Closed Doors

David Warner, Australia opener, is unwilling to play behind closed doors. It is a proposal being mulled over as a precautionary measure following the outbreak of novel coronavirus pandemic. But David Warner is clearly reluctant with the idea as he thinks the crowd rev-up his game.

After returning to international cricket following his ban for the ball-tampering, Warner was booed and jeered by the English fans. From being called a ‘cheat’ to crowd dressing up as sandpaper to taunt the ‘chief plotter’, Warner took it all while fielding at the ropes during the Ashes 2019. However, Warner said it does not matter to him as he is ‘thick-skinned’ and just laughs it off.

“No doubt at all, you want crowds no matter where you go and where you play,” Warner said.

“I love playing in England, it’s awesome. You’ve always got someone they always try and rev up, and fortunately for the team it’s pretty much just me, and that takes a lot of the heat off the other guys. I am quite thick-skinned and it doesn’t really affect me at all. I just laugh it off and play along with the crowd.”

Australia’s tour of Scotland, England unlikely

Australia are slated to tour Scotland an one-off T20I on June 29 before heading to England for a three-match T20I series and ODI series from July 3. But at the face off it, the series looks unlikely to get underway due to the widespread of novel coronavirus. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has also suspended cricket till July 1 but mulling plans to resume season behind closed doors.

“At the moment it’s highly unlikely we’re going to go over there given what’s happened in England. He (Boris Johnson) is back up on his feet now and that’s fantastic news, but there’s a lot more to this than just sport being played,” David Warner told cricket.com.au.

“The biggest picture is making sure we’re doing all the right things we can to flatten this curve and doing what we can do to play our bit in that. We’ve done a great job so far and all Australians should be credited,” he added.

A firm decision on resuming the sport season in England is yet to be taken, as everything is on the speculatory stage. According to reports, the Premier League is eyeing a resumption on June 8, behind closed doors and will reach towards the fag end of the tournament by July 27.

British government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) has asked the cricket board to lead the way ahead of horse racing, tennis and rugby, according to the cricket board chief. However, the board is still in discussion with the Premier League as they are facing similar problems.