David Warner enjoys being out of the cricket bubble and is back loving the game where it all started, but there is still that desire to be in England for the World Cup and the Ashes next year.
Warner accepts his 12-month ban from domestic and international cricket for his role in the sandpaper affair in Cape Town but it has given him a chance to discover what the sport should mean to him.
Smiling again: David Warner embraces former Test skipper Steve Smith at Coogee on SaturdayCredit:Channel 7
It is back in the green shirt of Randwick Petersham with teammates that have real jobs to whom cricket is fun.
“It puts in perspective we have been living in the bubble for a long time. It’s great to come back and enjoy cricket and remind yourself it is a fun game,” Warner said.
“You are there to have fun and put a smile on your face.
“My goal is always to play in the next game I’m going to play in, and play well for that team. My focus here with Randwick.
“That is my priority now but obviously the end result, and the prime goal, is to get back in the baggy green and play the World Cup, but as I said it is a game at a time.”
Warner took on his former captain Steve Smith, who is also serving a yearlong ban, in Sydney grade cricket at Coogee Oval on Saturday with Smith’s Sutherland getting the chocolates.
Warner said reports the pair didn’t get on were “comedy” and they embraced quickly as the two teams shook hands at the end of the 50-over match.
The next step for the pair is to get back to a higher level of cricket and the Australian Cricketers' Association is attempting to get some dispensation for them and Cameron Bancroft from their bans to at least play in the Sheffield Shield this season.
Warner is more than comfortable getting to Coogee Oval on a Saturday morning to help take the covers off the pitch and remains motivated by cricket itself rather than the higher level.
He is taking the same interest in the national team as cricketers at all levels do.
“At the end of the day I’m sitting here 12 months on the sideline, that’s my take on it,” he said.
“That’s why I want everyone to keep being positive about the guys that are playing [in the national team] and pump them up. We can’t keep sitting here going they’re going to be in or they’re not going to be in [for next year’s World Cup].
“We just want the game to be pumped up as much as we can.
“We understand there is going to be a bit of negative impact [from] what happened but we just have to keep smiling and putting our best foot forward to make sure Australia is enjoying Australian cricket.”
Warner took responsibility for what happened in Cape Town and sees his time back in grade cricket as mending bridges.
“What happened was very disappointing and we put our hands up and we’re ashamed of what happened,” Warner said.
“We are here to promote cricket and it is a fun game. We are trying to get Australians back loving it.”
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