David Warner and the prospect of signing off the only way he can

The moment someone mentions David Warner, a picture invariably forms in front of your eyes. A buccaneering presence at the top of the order, a batter who is not fazed by the opposition or the occasion, and someone who always tries to set the tone for his side.

Audacious, fearless, and outrageous – these are just some of the qualities associated with him. There are times he strikes the wrong notes and paints himself as a pantomime villain, but that only adds to his aura, his character and makes him who he is – a bullish cricketer who will not back down, and perhaps performs at his best when put under siege.

Try encapsulating all that Australia have gone through this World Cup, and it feels it has gone just the way Warner and the five-time winners would have wanted. Thrown into the abyss in such fashion that the only way to emerge from that slump was by coming out swinging.

Australia's premier opener has, unsurprisingly, been superb during this upturn. He has not racked up as many runs as Quinton de Kock or Virat Kohli but he has given Australia plenty of strong starts, handing them the initiative at the outset and putting the opposition under pressure.

David Warner has four 50-plus scores in this World Cup

That was evident in the fixtures against New Zealand and Pakistan. The Kiwis did run Australia close, but Warner and Travis Head’s opening partnership meant that they were always playing catch-up. Pakistan, too, showed spunk for a while but capitulated under the sheer weight of runs Australia put up, largely courtesy of Warner.

His ton against the Netherlands was slightly more measured, especially considering the carnage Glenn Maxwell later caused. It was still an innings that set up the game for Australia and powered them to a 309-run win, which eventually helped them steal a march on the others in net run rate terms, even if it did not quite come into play.

The manner in which Warner bats also forces opposition captains to rethink their plans, and perhaps bowl specific bowlers to the left-handed opener because of a favourable match-up. At times, however, that leaves space for the rest of the batters to capitalise, and when those batters are as destructive as what Australia have, it gives them a huge advantage.

Warner, thus, goes far beyond the numbers he ends up producing. Those stats, by the way, are not to be scoffed at in any way. 528 runs at an average of 52.8 and a strike rate of 107.53 in the ongoing World Cup, including two centuries and two fifties is a very, very handy return.

That is particularly pertinent because of how dominant the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami has been. They have bowled accurately and have gotten the ball to move both ways. Batters, thus, have found it tough to attack them. But if any batter can put them to the sword, it is Warner. Not just because of his skill, but also because of his mindset.

Australia’s mantra with the bat so far has been to throw caution to the wind in the powerplay. Head, if anything, is even more aggressive than his partner. Warner, though, has oodles of experience and carries an aura, giant-like and capable of casting a shadow of doubt over anyone and everyone.

The other thing, and this might sound extremely corny and cliche, is that Australia tend to sleep (replaceable with “bat” in this context) well when Warner plays well. Even in this World Cup, Australia only truly began flexing their muscles once their pocket-sized dynamo began showcasing his entire repertoire of strokes.

All Warner and Australia need now is another rendition. Against India. At Ahmedabad. And with the World Cup on the line.

There are signs that it could happen. Against South Africa, long before the Delhi Capitals opener ripped into Kagiso Rabada, he was up and about in the field, patrolling the cover and cover point region like a terrier and barely letting anything through, thus amplifying Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc’s new-ball threat.

When it was his turn to bat, it was his and Head’s onslaught that took Australia to such a comfortable position that they scraped past the finish line, despite another middle-order collapse to spin.

Speaking of collapses to spin, Australia, especially against India, know what that feels like. If the pitch in Ahmedabad starts taking turn, Australia will be tested, and there remains a possibility of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja running through them.

But if Warner can allay their nerves and quicken the scoring rate at the outset, Australia will have a greater chance of negotiating India’s ace spinners, and might even be accorded the luxury of not taking too many risks against them.

Again, it all comes down to how Australia start. Not just because India have shown they can blow teams away if they get going early, but also because Warner, inimitable and perhaps unrivalled, can set a tone of domination like few others can.

Plus, the fact that Australia will be up against more than hundred thousand fans at the stadium and will be aiming to become the first team to defeat a home side in an ODI World Cup final since 2011, should pique Warner's interest too. That this could, possibly, be his last ODI, adds yet another layer of drama and intrigue, and makes this the sort of opportunity the left-handed batter relishes.

Of course, with batters like him, there always exists a possibility that he, in trying to impose himself and his team’s credentials, crashes and burns. Just in case he gets his way, though, Australia might just win their sixth World Cup crown.

Audacious, fearless, outrageous – terms that he has been synonymous with throughout his career and during this World Cup, will gain even more prominence. And Warner will have signed off from this format (potentially) the only way he could have.