I don’t think so: John Buchanan refuses to label David Warner as one of the ‘greats’ of cricket | Cricket News
Former Australia coach John Buchanan refused to label David Warner as one of the ‘greats’ of the game, saying that the term should be used for exceptional talents.
“I don’t think so,” the 70-year old said when he was asked if Warner can be considered a ‘great’.
“I think he (Warner) has certainly performed exceptionally well throughout this career, he sits on 8000+ runs, he’s played over 100 Test matches, over 160 ODIs and nearly 100 T20s. His averages are reasonable compared to all those in the various formats, his strike rate is obviously higher because of the way he plays the game. On performance base, he’s right up there. But greats of the game, in my opinion, are people that really do and have done something exceptional that others just can’t match, so therefore you automatically go to the (Don) Bradmans, (Glenn) McGraths, (Shane) Warnes, they’re the greats in my opinion,” Buchanan explained.
Last week, Warner ended a glorious career in the most befitting manner, guiding Australia to an eight-wicket victory over Pakan for a 3-0 series sweep.
Warner has had an illustrious career for the Aussies. In 112 Test matches, the gutsy left-hander made 8786 runs at an average of 44.6, scoring 26 tons and 37 half-centuries. He also has a mammoth 335 against Pakan.
In addition to the red-ball format, Warner had declared retirement from the ODI format earlier in the week. He featured across 161 games and scored around 7000 runs; Warner was part of Australia’s World Cup winning squad in 2015 and recently in 2023, where he finished as Australia’s leading run-getter.
“Over the years, I haven’t been everyone’s cup of tea but for me, I’ve played the game as hard as I can and trying to do my best for the team,” Warner had told host broadcaster ‘Fox Cricket’.
“If I had my time again and I knew that, I probably would show a little bit more patience with myself and I’d bite my tongue a little bit more,” he had added.
