One of the most amusing things during the Test series between India and Australia was when David Warner said it is time to put the send-offs and the sledging in the back burner in a press conference. That was like Roger Federer saying "I don't want to win tennis matches" -- just not possible.
Expectedly the send-offs and the verbals remained in that Test series, even if Warner's might have been cut down a little bit, but the Australia opener was back to his regular antics again in the tri-series match against India at the MCG on Sunday.
Warner took aim at the stumps, looking to catch Rohit Sharma out of his crease in the final ball of the 23rd over, with the India batsman then taking a run after the ball evaded Brad Haddin. Australia took exception after thinking the ball had struck Rohit and ricocheted off him, but replays showed that was necessarily not the case.
That never stops Warner and co. from losing their rag does it? A spat followed with Warner clearly shouting at Rohit to "Speak in English" multiple times, with Suresh Raina and the umpires having to come in between the two to prevent matters from getting out of hand.
Admitting that he should not have engaged in verbals with Rohit, Warner also revealed he was fined for the incident – believed to be 50 percent of his match fee.
"On the cricket etiquette side of things when you throw a ball to the keeper and it hits a player you don't run," said Warner to Sky Sports Radio, still obviously thinking the ball had struck Rohit.
"A few of the boys said something to him and when I went over to say something he sort of said something in their language and I said 'speak English', because if you're going to say something for me to understand theoretically, I cannot speak Hindi.
"So I did the polite thing and asked him to speak English, therefore he did, and I can't repeat what he said. I thought I was OK by asking him to speak English and I'm going to say it a couple of times if he keeps saying it in Hindi.
"I got slapped on the wrist yesterday by the ICC, I shouldn't have engaged him and should have went to the other side to my fielding position, but I didn't.
"The guys behind the wicket said it hit him. I walked in because I presumed it hit him as well. I was in the wrong. What he was saying to me I asked him to speak English.
"I got in trouble for engaging the player, which technically you're not allowed to do that now ... You're not supposed to walk at the player. It was between overs and I should have walked around to my fielding position."
Too many times of late Warner has shown remorse after the fact, and Australia coach Darren Lehmann himself admitted that it might be time to take measures to ensure that his ridiculously talented, yet loose cannon, of an opener stays disciplined more often in the field.
"It's not a great look," said Lehmann. "The ICC have done something about it. At the end of the day we have to work better at those situations and get better as a group.
"Davey said he's been fined 50 percent, so we'll deal with that and move on. It's not an ideal scenario, but we've got to make sure we're playing the cricket we want to play without crossing the line.
"David's an aggressive character and we support that. It's just making sure he does the right things on the ground, and he knows that more than most. We'll work with him with that.
"We've just got to be mindful of the game of cricket, it's an important entertainment spectacle for people around the world. We've got to make sure we play hard but fair, and don't cross the line."
