David Warner – despite 15000 runs, 100 Tests and 48 centuries – not an Australian ‘great’ for John Buchanan

David Warner is a lot of things – Australia’s finest opener of all time, a four-time World champion, the first Australian cricketer to ever be selected for the national team with no experience in First-Class cricket – but not an Australian ‘great’ in John Buchanan’s books.

The now former batter, who recently retired with over 15000 runs, 48 centuries and more than 100 Tests, has been refused the same honour by Buchanan as the World Cup winning coach feels the term ‘great’ is loosely used and should be reserved for only a select few.

“I don’t believe so,” responded the 70-year-old when asked whether Warner can be regarded as ‘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,” Buchanan said.

“On a performance basis, 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.”

Regardless of what Buchanan has to say, Warner, without a shadow of doubt, will go down as one of the best batters ever produced by the country. Starting his career as an explosive opener, Warner is one of the very few batters who stuck to the same batting pattern over the years. In the pantheons of some legendary male batters in the history of Australian cricket such as Bradman, Greg Chappell, Allan Border, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Steve Smith and Michael Clarke, Warner finds his place as one of the very best.

Warner’s stellar numbers

Despite a career marred by controversies such as the Joe Root punching incident, altercation with Quinton de Kock and the most infamous ball tampering saga, Warner has left an impact. In 2016, Warner won the Australian Test player of the year award and was part of the ICC Test team of the decade (2011-2020). He also won the Allan Border medal in 2016, 2016 and 2020. Thrice Warner has scored centuries in both innings of a Test match.

And then of course, there are Warner’s stellar numbers in all three formats. A prolific Test batter, Warner scored 8786 runs in 112 matches at an average of 44.6, including 26 centuries and 37 fifties with a best of a mammoth 335 against Pakistan. Warner also played a significant role in Australia’s World Cup victories in 2015 and 2023. He featured in 161 ODI matches and scored around 7000 runs, and was Australia’s leading run-getter in the 2023 World Cup.