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But here’s the biggest difference between Warner and Warne: while there was always a certain section of the community that would genuinely have loved to see the leg spinner back in the baggy green, if even for a moment, Warner has no such support.
It was the national selectors who hung onto Warner, valuing his rare batting talent and ability to change games as an aggressive opener, in the face of a wave of negative public sentiment.
But they have no intention of turning to the 37-year-old now.
As Warner acknowledged in the News Corp interview, he got no traction with Australian coach Andrew McDonald.
“… I’ve spoken to Torch [McDonald] and his answer back to me was; ‘You retired’,” Warner said.
While some of that opinion is a hangover from the 2018 Newlands scandal, for which Cricket Australia sheeted home most blame to Warner in a manner that still rankles him, it has also merged with a general sense of fatigue about his generation. A Warner comeback would only heighten that fatigue.
Cricket watchers in Australia, from the most committed Sheffield Shield attendee to the casual watcher who may only tune in on Boxing Day, are in ardent agreement that the national team needs new blood.
The most excitement, as evidenced by a far bigger-than-expected turnout for day one of the Victoria-NSW game on Sunday, is actually for 19-year-old Sam Konstas, an opener half Warner’s age. Last summer, it was Cameron Green’s century in Wellington that set pulses racing.
Green is now recuperating from back surgery, and there are many questions around Australia’s approach to regeneration. These are heightened by the fact that, save for Alex Carey, none of the incumbent batters have lit up the Sheffield Shield over the past couple of weeks.
Over the past 18 months, only Usman Khawaja has shone consistently for Australia. Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh have all been up and down. That’s why, apart from Konstas, the selectors are also looking closely at 25-year-old South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney.
But so far as Warner is concerned, his biggest challenge will not be coming back to face the new ball in Indian hands in Perth. Instead, it is about whether, as a personality with all the aforementioned baggage, Warner will be able to fill the Warne-shaped hole in the Fox Cricket commentary box this summer.
