Transformed David Warner Earns New Nickname From Australia Teammates in CWC 2019

David Warner smashed records at will en route to his match-winning 166 runs that helped Australia beat Bangladesh by 48 runs and jump to second in the points table. The left-handed opening batsman out jumped skipper and fellow opener Aaron Finch into becoming the highest run-scorer in CWC 2019 after scoring his second century in Australia vs Bangladesh encounter at Trent Bridge. Unlike the initial years in his career when he would try and run havoc right from ball one, this Warner 2.0 starts slow before going big in the latter part of his innings. And now it seems that there has not only been a change in his batting technique but also a change in his surname. Yes! The old “Bull” Warner now has a new nickname that Warner says suits his new personality.  Most Runs in CWC 2019: David Warner Becomes Highest Run-Scorer in This World Cup During AUS vs BAN, Twitterati Hail the Australian Opener.

The 32-year old has so far scored 447 runs in six matches and is 22 runs ahead of the second-placed Shakib Al Hasan, who also has played a game less. Warner’s blistering knock that comprised of 14 boundaries and five sixes also helped him equal Adam Gilchrist’s record of scoring the third most ODI centuries for Australia. Both Warner and Gilchrist are locked on 16 ODI centuries in the list led by Ricky Ponting (30) He later revealed that the Australian teammates have given him a new nickname ever since he made a comeback into international cricket after serving a year ban for his role in master-minding the ball tampering scandal in 2018. David Warner Slams Second Century of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 During AUS vs BAN Match; Moves Up on the List of Highest Run-Scorers.

"The guys call me 'Hum-Bull' (humble)," Warner was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au at the post-match press conference following Australia’s 48-run victory.

It must be noted that the opener was earlier nicknamed The Bull’ or ‘The Reverend’ by his teammates for his aggressive behaviour in the field and long-standing habit of getting into confrontations with the opposition’s players. But the ball-tampering scandal seemed to be the final straw in that part of his career.

His return to international cricket after serving the infamous year-long ban has shown Warner to be a changed man. He has already played six games in the 2019 World Cup but is yet to get involved into any confrontation or verbal argument with any opposition player. That change in his behaviour and more so in his attitude has also coincided with a change in his surname.

Warner is no longer the “angry bull” of old but a 'Hum-Bull' as his national teammates call him.  "It's just one of those things. I think I was on a good behaviour bond for two years, I think it was if that's what you want to call it, with the ICC. And I couldn't really do anything on the field and I'm at that point (in life) as well at the moment." The 2015 World Cup winner said that he was "trying to make up" for the time he’s lost during the one-year ban.

Like the change in his surname, there has also been a change in his batting stance with Warner now taking time to settle down before unleashing himself. Against Bangladesh, his century came off 110 deliveries but the next 66 runs came from only 37 deliveries. He was involved in two century-run partnerships in the AUS vs BAN game – the first was 121 run opening stand with Finch, while Warner and Usman Khawaja stitched a record 193-run partnership for the second wicket.

"It's just more runs that you can miss out on," Warner said. "For me it's about going out there and putting my best foot forward for the team and trying to score as many runs as I can, to make up for all the runs that I've missed out on and for the team. I don't mean to go out there and bat slow. I've tried to get a calculation of how many fielders I've hit in the first 10 (overs).

"I got frustrated against India. I got frustrated against Afghanistan. And then today, Finchy (Aaron Finch) kept telling me to hang in there and bat deep and bat time. And that was in like the eighth or ninth over. Because it's generally not my game to stick there, and I usually try and go after it a little bit. Must be a bit more maturity, I think," he added.

Warner joined Shakib Al Hasan (425 runs), Joe Root (367 runs) and Rohit Sharma (319 runs) as the four batsmen to have already registered two centuries in CWC 2019. Courtesy his top performances, Australia are placed at the top of the points standings. They have 10 points from six games winning five and losing only one match, which came against India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 21, 2019 03:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).