Warner never told to sledge: Clarke

Australia captain Michael Clarke has endorsed David Warner’s decision to tone down his outspoken persona, indicating that neither he nor coach Darren Lehmann have ever issued instructions to the feisty opener to verbally engage with opposition players.

Clarke, who took a break from his team’s first major training session of their 2015 Ashes campaign to speak with media during an all-day training session at the prestigious Merchant Taylor School near Watford, backed Warner to make decisions about what sort of approach worked best for him.

In an interview with ESPN Cricinfo during Australia’s recent Test tour of the Caribbean, Warner indicated he had made a conscious effort to scale back the confrontational approach that landed him in hot water several times with match referees last Australian summer.  

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Warner in the Caribbean earlier this month // Getty Images

At tour’s end, Lehmann conceded that Warner had “struggled” in the two Tests against the West Indies but Clarke claimed that if the 28-year-old felt he needed to alter his on-field approach that was fine with the skipper.

Provided Warner’s change in personality did not have a negative effect on his capacity to score runs.

“It was quite an interesting read to be honest,” Clarke said when asked his view of the sentiments that Warner had expressed in the earlier interview.

“I don’t know what Davey said but I can guarantee that I have never asked him to go and sledge somebody, and I think I can speak for the coach (Lehmann) as well to say that he’s never done that.

“The environment I try and create around this group is for them to play the way they feel they can play their best cricket.

“So for me, for example, being sledged or sledging someone else has never really impacted me – it’s never really affected me if I’ve copped it and it’s never really helped me if I’ve opened my big mouth.

“So that’s how I play my best cricket and that’s what I want to do.

“But if someone like (former Australia test players) Shane Warne or Matthew Hayden or Steve Waugh feel like they get benefit from talking to a batter when they’re batting or when they’re fielding or (for) Warney when he’s bowling, then that’s for them as well.

“Davey (Warner) is his own man, he’s a 28-year-old grown man and he’ll make his own choices.

“I want to see him perform as well as he possibly can, he’s a big part of this team, he’s in tremendous form – he’s batted beautifully in all forms of the game over the past 12 months and we need him to be successful here.

“So if he feels like he’s said a lot through his career and he wants to say less, and that helps his game then I’m all for it.”

Australia will train at the Merchant Taylor School, which hosts a series of expansive playing fields that often hosts Middlesex’s Second XI matches, again tomorrow before travelling to Canterbury where they will tackle county team Kent in a four-day warm-up match.

That will be followed by another four-day game against Essex in Chelmsford before the opening match of the five-Test Ashes series begins in Cardiff on Juy 8.