"Humble" David Warner admits he's benefiting from year off after century in Australia win

Warner made 166 as Australia eased past a spirited Bangladesh side by 48 runs at Trent Bridge

David Warner says his newfound circumspection at the start of his innings is not a deliberate ploy.

Warner's change in style early on does not seem to have dampened his effectiveness, as he took his World Cup tally to 447 runs at an average of 89 with his 166 against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge – which should put England on guard for when Australia pitch up at Lord’s on Tuesday.

Shane Warne was the latest pundit to question Australia’s batting tempo in this World Cup. But Warner says the results have vindicated Australia’s policy.

“I always respect what Warney says. For us to bat and go out there and do the best that we can, whether or not we're batting slow or fast, I think you're going to get some form of criticism somewhere.

“I felt the way we batted, we tried to take it deep as we did and we ended up getting 380 [actually 381] so that's just the way that we're playing at the moment. We can only adapt to the conditions that are in front of us.

“I don't mean to go out there and bat slowly. I've tried to get the calculation of how many fielders I've hit in the first 10 [overs]. It's a get bit frustrating because you middle one and it goes full pace to the fielder and you can't get off strike so that's been a bit annoying. But I've just hung in there.

“I got frustrated against India, maybe got frustrated against Afghanistan and then today Finchy [Aaron Finch] kept on telling me to ‘hang in there and bat deep, bat time’. And that was in the eighth or ninth over. It's generally not my game to just sit there. It must be a bit more maturity, I think.”

^{Warner struck 166 in Australia's 48-run win}

It looked as though Warner’s patience paid off, as he was able to press on to an authoritative 166 in the 45th over that made Bangladesh’s task extremely hard.

“It was always in the back of my mind [to go on past 100]. I wasn't striking at 100, I faced 120 balls before I got to 110, I think it was. It's always at the back of your mind, looking at the scoreboard and you've got 14 or 15 overs to go. I treated each ball as it comes and from there try and accelerate a little bit and bat smart, take those risks to the right areas.

“There was a big breeze coming towards the grandstand. I had to work out who we were going to target. We knew with their bowlers as well, we had to make the most of it. It's just about trying to execute as much as I can.”

For Warner, it’s been a case of making up for runs lost over the last year – as he served a 12-month ban for his part in the ball-tampering affair in South Africa.

He said: “[The ban] hasn't been on my mind, it's just been the runs you can miss out on. For me to go out there and put my best foot forward for the team and try to score as many runs as I can, it was more of a play on words to make up for all the runs I've missed out on and for the team.

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“I'm feeling a lot fresher. If you’re playing all the time you don't get a year off, you don't get a couple of weeks off.

"I've worked hard on my own fitness, taking your mind away from the game. Just the little things of being on time for the buses or aeroplanes, packing your bags, travelling... Just the basic things, you just let your mind be at ease. To have time at home as well with my family was awesome and I really enjoyed that.”

Hand-in-hand with his newfound patience at the crease has been Warner’s polite demeanour: he’s been as good as gold in this World Cup, and it would be surprising if that changed, even if the old Ashes enemy were next up for Australia.

“The guys call me ‘Humble’! It's just one of those things. I was on a good behaviour bond for two years, if that's what you want to call it, with the ICC. I couldn't really do anything on the field and I'm at that point as well at the moment. It's a different game.

“We've played so much cricket, I know I have in the last 12 months with a lot of different people, especially the Bangladesh guys, getting to know a lot of them as well. It just opens your eyes. It's normal for me now.”

Warner is the tournament's top run-scorer

The other consideration during Warner’s time out of the side was the elbow surgery he underwent earlier this year. But Warner said his physical condition has not been affected by it.

“There's nothing there from an injury perspective. It's just more the wickets. We played on a nice green sort of wicket in Taunton and it was dry here, the one against Afghanistan was a little bit different. You're getting different conditions so you just have to adapt to that.

“As I said before, it's about fluency in my game. I hit a lot of fielders which got on my nerves a little bit but I'm sure with a bit of pace as well, England coming up, they've got some bowlers who bowl over 150 [kph]. With pace on the ball coming on to the bat makes a big difference. It's just about that fluency when you're out there.”

All-rounder Marcus Stoinis admitted that Australia will have to be on form to beat England at Lord’s, though he says their confidence is high after embarking on a winning run interrupted only by their earlier defeat by.India.

“I think the fact we’ve won all those games in a row gives us confidence going into that game. I think everyone’s been working towards this for a long time. We’ve got two of the best players in the world come back into our side at the right time. We’re playing England at the right time for us.

“But I’m going to have to nail some yorkers and slower balls, because there’s absolutely flying at the moment. We’ll have to come up with some plans.”

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