‘It just sells papers and clickbait’ – David Warner vows to stay away from banter ahead of Ashes 2023

The veteran Australian batter David Warner distanced himself from getting involved in any kind of banter prior to the 2023 Ashes. The former Test skipper said that the banter exists only to sell papers and clickbait and he will not be part of it. Australia face the Indian team in World Test Championship final at The Oval starting on June 7 and then take on hosts England in the 2023 Ashes from June 16 to kick off their summer. 

The star opener has a long time history of stirring controversies with the war of words with his English counterparts. A day ago, Warner took a sly dig at English bowler Stuart Broad for the latter’s remark on the 2021/22 Ashes. Broad termed the last Ashes as ‘null and void’ due to the Covid-19 restrictions to which Warner replied, “He’s got to get selected first. I don’t really have any plans, to be honest, so if he gets selected, then I’ll adjust when I’m out there.”

The world no.1 Test batter Marnus Labuschagne also hit back at Broad’s comment on Friday. However, Warner said that there is no real banter in modern-day cricket and he will not be involved in any in the upcoming Ashes.

“It just sells papers and clickbait, so I won’t be getting involved in any of that stuff. I will leave it to themselves. Today there is no real banter in the field. It is just about playing quality cricket and trying to get the upper edge on each other. It is a lot more connected these days than before which I think is great for the game,” Warner told the ICC website.

Australia dominated the 2021/22 Ashes at home with a 4-0 win under Tim Paine-Pat Cummins’ leadership but Warner endured poor outings. He scored just 273 runs in eight innings with two fifties and will be looking to make a positive comeback in the upcoming series. 

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