'Old and slow' Warner shuts down critics

Australian superstar David Warner silenced his doubters with a spectacular T20 World Cup campaign.

Australia defeated New Zealand by eight wickets this morning to win their maiden men's T20 World Cup.

Warner was awarded Player of the Tournament honours, in which he notched a total of 289 runs in the series for an average of 48.16.

Heading into the T20 World Cup, the 35-year-old had been dropped by IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Warner was first axed as captain and replaced by New Zealand star Kane Williamson, before he was completely dumped from the team shortly after when the IPL season resumed following the COVID-19 hiatus.

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He notched scores of 0 and 2 in his final two games for the IPL squad, which left many critics questioning his form heading into Australia's World Cup campaign.

"I always felt good, for me it was about going back to basics, getting on some hard, synthetic wickets in order to hit volumes of balls," Warner said after this morning's win.

"[The win is] definitely up there with 2015 [World Cup], losing to England a decade ago really hurt.

"These are a great bunch of guys, great support staff, and great support around the world, especially back home. Always pumped, wanted to put on a spectacle. There were some nerves around as always in a final but great to see the guys deliver."

Teammate Steve Smith said he was happy to see Warner silence those who doubted him.

"Warner's last two weeks have been amazing," Smith said.

"A lot of people were writing him off. He came in with exceptional intent and took the game away at the start."

Meanwhile, social media was also quick to praise Warner, including wife Candice who took a cheeky shot at those who suggested he was "too old and slow".

https://twitter.com/CandiceWarner31/status/1459948484652531712https://twitter.com/ChloeAmandaB/status/1459943625622573060?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1459943625622573060%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-8937491893836400132.ampproject.net%2F2110290545003%2Fframe.htmlhttps://twitter.com/sambitbal/status/1459944209637543937?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1459944209637543937%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-8937491893836400132.ampproject.net%2F2110290545003%2Fframe.htmlhttps://twitter.com/VVSLaxman281/status/1459936994012844034

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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/t20-world-cup-david-warner-player-of-the-tournament-silences-critics-australia-defeat-new-zealand/08c65ff4-9203-4ecf-925f-406adc4c5aef