Australia’s swashbuckling opener David Warner has been sensational in his 11-year long cricketing career. The southpaw has achieved amply of records and of course, many more will come his way, but at the same time, he is also one of the most controversial players in recent times.
Warner has certainly had a rollercoaster 12 months after returning from a year-long suspension due to his involvement in the sandpaper incident during the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
The 33-year-old had a decent 2019 World Cup campaign but he bounced back brilliantly in the home summer to pick up the Allan Border Medal in February, and all this could not have been possible without the help of his wife Candice who played a key role in shaping his life and career.
In a chat show with reputed journalist Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz, Warner acknowledged that growing up, one thing that was missing in him “was the discipline side of things,” and Candice Falzon, a retired ironwoman and model, forced him into adopting a systematic way of living. The two started dating in 2013 and got married two years later.
“Not being rude, but I never used to listen to many people, except my parents,” Warner said. “But when Candice came into my life, as an athlete herself, she was like, ‘Why would you drink a day before a game? Why would you contemplate staying awake after midnight, or why would you not train today?
“There was no rest for her, no alcohol. Anything that ever hindered her sport, she was like, ‘You’re not an athlete, how can you do that?’
“[Candice was] Up at 5 o’clock in the morning to go and train. I was like, ‘We don’t play cricket at 5 am, we play cricket at 8 o’clock at night.
“But the beauty of it was she was teaching me discipline, and I think that’s what was missing from my youth, coming through the cricket system, was the discipline side of things. From there, I got up at 4.30 am, I trained, I did it for at least 10 weeks, and it completely changed me.
The change started reflecting in his cricket, as Warner had a bumper 2014 and 2015 in the red-ball format, scoring over 1,000 runs in both those years, and turning a new leaf in his ODI career, averaging 54.33, 63.09 and 57.58 from 2015-2017.
“I saw cricket and I saw my life from a different perspective, and it just grew and grew and grew, and I haven’t look back since.”
