David Warner opens up on sledging, sobriety and sacrifice after final Test appearance for Australia; David Warner press conference; David Warner retirement

He also opened up on his two-and-a-half years of sobriety, which earned him notoriety from his then-coach.

To the Australian public, Warner has been a polarising figure for much of his career. He came into the side as a brash and aggressive youngster, but arguably softened later in his career.

He said he was “moulded” into playing that way, but his two-and-a-half years off the grog showed there were other ways to go about his cricket.

“I think early doors when I came into the team, the way I went about it on the field was to get in people’s faces, to upset them and get them off their rhythm when they were batting,” he said.

“From my perspective I felt I could still give the same energy on the field without having to get into that battle with the opposition and then obviously it comes down to playing with a lot of the players as well.”

He said the emergence of the IPL and franchise-based cricket had changed the on and off-field relationships between players, and made such aggression far more difficult as the blokes he was sledging became genuine friends.

“When I first came in I didn’t understand the nature of playing the opposition because I didn’t know who they were,” he said.

“I was never going to have to sit down with them and have a beer and get to know them because it wasn’t like that back then.

“Then IPL changed, T20 cricket changed and you’re in the changeroom with a lot of these guys.”

He said he’d changed his opinions of many of the players he’d once sledged, and believed many had changed their opinions of him as well.

“Which is what cricket is about. I don’t think you’ll see that kind of sledging anymore, I think you’ll see a bit of laughter and banter … I think that’s probably the way forward, I don’t think you’ll see the old aggression again.”

The Australia-Pakistan series was playing in particularly good spirits, with players often seen laughing and joking together on-field.

Warner married wife Candice in 2015. The couple have three daughters together – Ivy Mae, 9, Indi Rae, 8, and Isla Rose, 4.

Warner gave up alcohol when Candice fell pregnant with Ivy Mae, and remained sober until after Indi Rae was born.

He said at the beginning of their relationship, Candice couldn’t believe how much cricketers drank, and credited her for turning him into an athlete capable of extending his career for as long as he did.

“I probably didn’t understand what it was about to be an athlete at this level – I was burning the candle at both ends,” he said.

“She didn’t understand how we drank so much as cricketers, and I said to her that’s how cricket is … it’s something you do at the end of the day a day’s play – you crack open a beer.”

Candice, herself a former professional Ironwoman, was sober the entirety of her 15-year career, and became David’s inspiration to change his own relationship with alcohol.

Former teammate Peter Siddle has been sober for over a decade.

Warner said coming from an individual-based sport, Candice carried with her several training and health routines into her life post-retirement that he adopted.

But, he said the decision to give up the grog meant he copped grief from his coach at the time – who was Darren Lehmann in 2015, but didn’t name him directly.

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“I got a lot fitter, I was hungrier, more determined, it really sparked me to get into that sort of second gear and understand what it’s about to play cricket for Australia and how to backup and be physically fit to have longevity in the game.

“I owe her a lot for that, and where I’ve ended up now at 37 years of age, still running hard between wickets running after those balls in the outfield.

“I stopped drinking for two and a half years and the coach was calling me a reverend and didn’t like the way I was, which is uncanny.”

Lehmann was the self-proclaimed “last of that bunch that played a little bit overweight and enjoyed a beer and a cigarette”.

Warner said he was interested in a coaching role in the future, and indicated a desire to become a mentor for up-and-coming players.

“I’ve got ambitions later down the track to potentially coach (but) I’ll have to speak with the wife first to see if I’m allowed a few more days away,” he said.

Warner was given a standing ovation when he fell for 57 during Australia’s final innings against Pakistan.

The opener explained the support given to him over the course of his farewell Test shows how well he’s come back from controversial incidents like the Sandpaper scandal in 2018, which for many cast a dark shadow on what was undoubtedly a career that changed the game.

“I have given absolutely everything to play this game and to sacrifice a lot of things and be in the position I am,” Warner said.

“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs through my career. I’ve had to come back and overcome adversity.

“I think I’ve done that very, very well, and I think it’s been well received from a lot of people. 

“Today just showed to me that I do have a lot of support and I am very, very grateful and very thankful for that.”