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With the Ashes 2025-26 series still a couple of months away, the traditional pre-series banter has already begun, sparked by a familiar figure. The war of words was ignited by former Australian opener David Warner, who targeted England‘s star batter, Joe Root, despite his recent record-breaking form. Warner’s comments have been met with swift and fiery rebuttals from former England players, with Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali taking to social media and podcasts to defend their former teammate and mock Warner’s attempts at sledging.
David Warner’s sledge and ‘Surfboard’ remark aimed at Joe Root
Former Australian opener Warner initiated the off-field hostilities, taking a shot at Root despite the latter’s exceptional form this summer. Root recently moved to second on the all-time Test run-scorer list, behind only Sachin Tendulkar. However, Warner pointed out what he believes is a glaring weakness in Root’s game, particularly when playing in Australia. “The big anchor there is Root, who is yet to score a hundred in Australia,” Warner said the BBC. He specifically referenced Root’s vulnerability to inswingers that can trap him LBW, stating, “I think he will have nightmares before he gets over there about Josh Hazlewood. A bit like me and Broady… [Hazlewood] tends to have his number quite a lot. He will have to take the surfboard off his front leg.” Warner further revealed that targeting Root’s pads has been a long-standing strategy for Australian bowlers, stating, “That’s where we always targeted him.” He suggested that Root’s batting style on Australian wickets, where he brings his bat down, makes him particularly susceptible to this kind of dismissal.
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Moeen Ali responds to Warner’s jibe at Root
Warner’s comments were met with an immediate and sarcastic counter-attack from former England players. Stuart Broad, who famously tormented Warner across their Ashes battles, was quick to respond on X. He challenged Warner’s claims about Hazlewood’s success against Root, tweeting, “I’ve never heard England’s best ever batters front pad called a surfboard. Just for clarity. Hazlewood has got Rooty LBW in Test Cricket 3 times. Three.” Broad’s sharp, fact-based tweet quickly went viral, debunking the severity of Warner’s claim.
Meanwhile, former England all-rounder Moeen Ali was even more direct in his criticism, calling Warner “a bit of a clown” on the Beard Before Wicket podcast. Ali dismissed Warner’s remarks as a failed attempt to get into Root’s head, arguing that Root is far too experienced to be affected.
“He’s just being Warner. He’s a bit of a clown to be honest with you. He’s trying to, obviously, get into Rooty’s head, which he won’t. He’s not up for the whole banter thing. It’s just Warner, isn’t it?,” Moeen said
Ali further explained that sledging only works on certain players, and Root’s experience means it will have no effect on him. He cited India’s failed attempts to sledge Root during the recent series, where Root still “scored loads of runs,” as evidence that the tactics simply do not work on him.
“But Rooty… the guy has scored so many runs now, he’s been through the whole thing and it won’t effect him. India tried it and it just didn’t work, clearly didn’t work, because he scored loads of runs. But yeah, there’s some players you can do that to and others that you can’t,” Moeen concluded.
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