“Everyone keeps writing me off”: David Warner happy to make critics “look stupid”

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India]: Australia’s in-form opener David Warner said he is not motivated by any desire to prove his critics wrong, but he has been making them “look stupid” with his performances in the Cricket World Cup.

Warner has been in excellent form for Australia in the competition, amassing 413 runs in six matches, including two hundreds and a fifty.

“Everyone keeps writing me off. I am doing as well as I can, I am just trying to go out there and start as well as I can up front in the first 10 (overs). If I get in, I try and make the most of it,” Warner said, as quoted by cricket.com.au.

“It is also awesome to have Heady and Mitch there as well because it allows that pressure to keep being put back onto the opposition,” he added.

When asked if the critics were fueling him, Warner said, “Nup. I just make everyone look stupid.”

In fact, Warner has cautioned that Jos Buttler’s players, who have fared so poorly in India that they are in risk of losing out on Champions Trophy qualification. Australia will face defending champion England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

“It’d be nice. But they’re the teams that are the most dangerous when there’s nothing to lose. They’ve got some very, very (high) quality players and we have to respect it.

They bat to 11 and their bowling unit is very good,” the opener said of England’s distressed performance in the ongoing tournament.

Warner opened up on the first five World Cup games with Mitchell Marsh before being joined by Travis Head against New Zealand. Head recovered from a hand injury faster than expected and joined the Australian camp midway through the campaign.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s him or Mitch, they’re both exactly the same players, but it’s good to see Heady come out and fire. He’s obviously came back where he left off in (South) Africa and it’s good to have him amongst the runs and hopefully, he keeps continuing it in Ahmedabad,” Warner added.

“That’s his game plan – he likes to go after every single ball. That’s why we nicknamed him ‘Chaos’. It seems to be hitting the middle all the time, and that’s the way he plays, and that’s good, because at the other end, it (puts) a bit of pressure on the bowlers, and then I can get some bad balls as well. We are gelling really well together,” the Australia opener said.