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ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP

June 12, 2019

David Warner

Taunton, England, UK

Australia - 307 (49), Pakistan - 266 (45.4)

THE MODERATOR: We're joined by David Warner.

Q. Amazing response when you made the 100 today. Looked more emotional than usual. Could you talk us through the feelings that were going through your body when you reached 100 runs?
DAVID WARNER: For us, as a top four unit, we always talk about scoring hundreds. Personally it's a great thing. It obviously was a long time coming. Against Afghanistan I felt like I had no rhythm. The next game, obviously, got one that sort of kicked off a wicket, but I was a bit lazy. And still last game they bowled really straight to me.

But to come out here play the way I know I can play was awesome. But I was elated. It was a bit of relief in a way, but I still think I left a lot out there. You know, 70 balls to go. And with the weather, trying to build partnerships again, I probably hold responsible for the way we fell apart there.

Q. You have played today your typical uncharacteristic inning. I guess you always play in the big innings with the big shots. Was it planned or just according to the situation and wicket in bowling, because we had a thought that Pakistan bowlers have not bowled according to their plan?
DAVID WARNER: I thought that wicket was going to be sort of like a test match battle. We knew obviously two guys up front were obviously going to swing the ball, especially away from me.

I think Amir got it right the second spell. He bowled fantastic. He got nice response off the wicket. And, yes, they were a tad too short or a tad too full. And it allowed us to sort of free our arms a little bit. And we knew that they had to get 10 overs out of Malik and Hafeez.

So it was a bit of a target point there as well. So for us we went out there to play our natural game, strong defense and hit through the line of the ball. And we felt the wicket was definitely too paced. There was a bit of a patch in the middle which was a tennis bally.

But, look, all in all I thought it was a great game. We left a lot out there, I think, with the bat. And with the ball, I felt that Pakistan got really right in that second sort of spell.

Q. Can you talk to us about the emotion over the last month or two for you coming back into this squad and I guess capping it off today with this entry, but also the last two months?
DAVID WARNER: For myself it was obviously getting back to the normal routine of training, high intensity. Our fitness levels have to be spot on when you're in this Australian cricket team. And I felt like I did a lot of hard work in my time off to get right.

And then coming back, that soreness that you normally get, it was it put a smile on my face. I had a little bit of a strain on my glute. I think that was just purely based on getting back into it and sort of getting back in the mojo of things. And, look, it was just great to be back and part of the team.

Q. Did you ever think about not coming back to international cricket after what happened? And what sort of kept you going, particularly in those early few months when probably going through some tough times I guess?
DAVID WARNER: I was always coming back to international cricket if selected. The thing that kept me going was my wife and my kids. Got great support at home, my family. And my wife is just, she's just my rock. She's unbelievable. She's determined, disciplined, selfless.

And I hold a lot of credit to her. She's a strong woman. And she got me out of bed a lot in those sort of first sort of 12 weeks, and got me back running and training hard as I could, and prepared for sort of the other formats of the game I was playing and I did play.

So it was just maintain my level of fitness and just hard work. And she really nailed that into me.

Q. We saw Steve and Cameron give a couple of interviews during their time away. You chose not to. Can you explain why you didn't take the same route as them?
DAVID WARNER: I was just focused ahead. That was my own thing. I was just focusing on playing the next game that I was playing in, training as hard as I could. I didn't need to say anything. What was said was said back in those press conferences. And now it's about looking forward.

I'm excited to be here. Obviously we're a couple of games in now. Good to get a win on the board and we move forward and looking forward to Sri Lanka at The Oval.

Q. Obviously there's still a lot of treatment coming from supporters of other teams. It's happened early in the tournament. There may be more to come when England and South Africa potentially face you. How are you dealing with that?
DAVID WARNER: The treatment of --

Q. From boos, things like that from the crowd.
DAVID WARNER: The boos, we don't really hear that when we're out there. At the end of the day we're out there to do a job. And for us it's, for me it's just trying to score runs and have a lot of energy in the field.

And, look, it's water off a duck's back. You get it all the time. I've heard it my whole career. Actually it eggs us on a lot and makes us knuckle down and try to score more runs if anything.

Q. You said that you always wanted to come back to international cricket if selected, and you talked about the emotion of reaching three figures today. Was there ever, in your darkest days, you said you might not get the chance to make hundreds for Australia again?
DAVID WARNER: Yeah, definitely. There was always that going through my mind. And I think that's what drove me to keep being as fit as I can, keep scoring as many runs as I can in the Twenty20 tournaments that I was playing in.

Great cricket. Really enjoyed going out there. And we used regulation balls back in Sydney. And that was a challenge in itself to get used to that. The different obscure fields that were being set because the wickets are a tad slower. I really enjoyed all that. It was really, really hard work.

And I think going through those tough times and sort of regrouping with myself to put myself in the best position to come back to international cricket, I did everything I could. I really, really knuckled down and trained my backside off.

And I'm just grateful for this opportunity and as I said before, I'm just really looking forward to what's coming ahead of us here in the World Cup. Pumped to be back, and the boys are on fire here.

We've got a great sort of group harmony, a lot of smiles on the faces as you can see in a lot of the training sessions and out in the field. So, look, I'm pumped.

Q. How is the team environment changed from when you left it maybe 13, 14 months ago now, from then until now?
DAVID WARNER: We're in colour clothing now so that's a big change. Obviously from the group's point of view, the one-day team was always as it is. So it's a bit different. You can ask me the question when we get back to the test stuff because I don't know that yet.

But this group's always been fantastic. We've got a great presence about us. The guys played fantastic cricket in the Subcontinent, and then moving forward into this World Cup our preparations were on point. We had a great hit out against New Zealand up in Queensland. And we're all truffed (phonetic) to be here again. And, like I said, we're looking forward to the next game after this one.

Q. Could you talk us through Mohammad Amir's spell? You guys playing and missing initially, and then he came back, bowled (indiscernible) took five wickets?
DAVID WARNER: Look, he's a world-class bowler. When he's swinging it, it's very difficult to try to get on top of him. Then when it's seaming and swinging, it's even harder. So as I said before, you really have to have that mentality of test match approach, keep nice tight defense for me it's looking to score and defense will take care of itself.

I tried my best to try and see him out but still try and rotate strike. And it's very difficult on a wicket that often something for the bowlers which I think is fantastic for one-day cricket. The ball stayed hot out there as well which was great and allowed them to sort of regroup and come back into that contest and they didn't make that mistake again.

As I said before, credit to the way the Pakistan came back after that first sort of spell.

Q. Could you just talk to us through the transition from the first two long innings you've played in this World Cup to now where earlier probably you would have hit the fielders more often than we would have liked to now coming into the most difficult conditions and finding absences?
DAVID WARNER: That's one thing probably I missed when I was explaining, against India I hit a lot of fielders. You, as a player, you feel like you got in a rhythm. And that's what happened. But today was one of those wickets, if you're still looking to score and your defense is tight, you'll create those opportunities for yourself. And that's what we focus on as a batter. You gotta try to really adapt to those conditions. And as I said with the TV just before, we used two used wickets the previous two games. So wickets were very dry. They bowled straight last game, India, and then West Indies bowled nice short lengths and that wicket was sort of up and down as well. Then the first wicket we got in Bristol was a nice wicket. So you don't know what you're going to get at the moment. We've got another fresh wicket I heard at The Oval so that's going to be good. But obviously weather plays a big role as well. So we have to assess when we get back to London.

Q. You see Candice tomorrow. How special will that be after what happened today, to see her and your two little girls. And have you spoken to any Big Bash clubs yet?
DAVID WARNER: I'm looking forward to seeing the kids and the wife. Obviously we're fortunate enough to have our families away with us which is great and obviously we're going to be here for a while in the UK. So, look, I'm excited that they're over here. And Big Bash, no, I haven't talked to any clubs yet. I'm here. I think we're available for it. But I'm yet to put my hand up to see if I'm going to play. I'll sort of look over the summer, see how much cricket is being played. We've got obviously this World Cup to get over and the Ashes, so I'll have to think about that hardly.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

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