NZ v AUS: David Warner recalls early days in franchise cricket ahead of farewell tour

Outgoing Australia opener David Warner is happy to be back in a place where he first played franchise cricket. Ahead of the first T20I against New Zealand in Wellington on Wednesday (Feb 21), Warner recalled playing the HRV Cup (New Zealand’s domestic T20 league) for the Northern Districts Knights in 2010.

Though Warner had made his white-ball debut by then, the attacking opener was yet to get introduced to T20-based franchise cricket. The gun batter at the top was one of the few Australians, including David Hussey and Brad Hodge, who decided to expand their T20 horizon by featuring for teams in New Zealand’s cricket league.

Going back in time when he first arrived in Oamaru for the game, Warner recalled walking alone on the streets of the town of around 14,000 inhabitants in North Otago, wondering what life has to offer.

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"That was an eye opener – there wasn't much out there," Warner told reporters ahead of the first T20I.

"It was the first place I went to; I didn't know what was going on. I literally thought it was a ghost town; I was walking down the street, and I think it was a Saturday, and there was just no one there.

“And we legitimately played on a football field. It was quite crazy; coming from Australia and then, we were playing on a rugby league field, I was like 'What's going on here?'.
"But I really enjoyed it,” Warner added.

‘I love this game, and I owe this game a lot’

Having announced his retirement from Tests and ODIs earlier this year, Warner asserted his keenness to continue playing for Australia in T20Is till the World Cup later this year.

Speaking on his plans once he hangs his boots from international cricket, Warner said he would still play franchise cricket worldwide as he loves this game and owes a lot to it.

"I will definitely keep playing all the franchise leagues for another couple of years," Warner said, dismissing rumours of him opting to play for Australia beyond the T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA.

"I still love the game a lot, and I owe the game a lot as well. So, me playing in the other franchise leagues will be great, we haven’t had that opportunity to play a lot and play full seasons."

"I offered my time in ILT20 (UAE last month), the MLC (USA) is there, you've got The Hundred (UK), and I had a taste of the CPL (West Indies) in 2018, which I enjoyed."

"But, I'm glad I'm not a bowler because those boys are strong, and they hit the ball a long way,” Warner concluded.

This New Zealand tour will be Warner’s last bilateral tour in Australian colours, as he will next play in the T20 WC in June.