Warner ‘living the dream’ says father

Warner let his bat do the talking with a century at the Gabba on Saturday but was quick to add the verbal barbs after play, labeling Jonathan Trott weak.

Howard Warner, David’s father, was at the ground to see his son make 124 in the first Commonwealth Bank Ashes Test, the first of his son’s four Test centuries he’d seen live.

"I'm shaking like a leaf," Howard said. "It's the first Test hundred of his I've seen. I wasn't in Hobart [against New Zealand in 2011], I wasn't in Perth [against India in 2012] and we were on a plane when he got it at the Adelaide Oval [against South Africa last November].

“It's been hard but he's got through the controversy and we've got through it. We lived the dream early, then we lived the nightmare, and now we're back living the dream again."

Howard said the family struggled to cope with the attention when the batsman was at the centre of controversy. "I stopped buying papers because every day you'd buy the paper it had my name in it, even though it was his. And it was all bad.

"The punch with Joe Root and all that, I don't know the full story behind it. I've heard stories but I'm not going to say what they were because you don't know what's true. Reading some of the comments in the paper, yeah, he had to get the respect back. Hopefully today has gone a long way towards that."

Warner had struggled for form in the past year as his off-field antics distracted from his cricket. However, Howard revealed his son had found solace in supporting his family.

Warner bought his parents, Howard and Lorraine, a new townhouse and allowed his father to give up work.

"He's got us a house; we move in in March or April next year," Howard said. "He's done a lot. He's got us out of debt, even though we weren't in big debt. But we had credit cards and he paid them all off for us.

“He's a bloody good kid. It helped us out something terrible. He's basically just put me into retirement so I can go around and watch him play. I was a salesman on hardware and tools. I don't have to drive the M5 any more, which is bloody brilliant.”

Howard revealed how, even as a 10-year-old kid, Warner had aspirations of wearing the Baggy Green.

"He'd go out on Sunday, be out on the field for 100 overs, batting and fielding, come home, and his mother and myself and his brother, we're all knackered," Howard said.

"But he comes home, throws his gear in and then, bang, straight to the nets and starts training, at 10 years old. He's always wanted to play at the highest level.

"I wish I would've been to the WACA when he made his 180 against India. That's probably the best I've seen but this has been brilliant today. He's just showed real maturity today, it's been great."