| Australia v New Zealand, first Test: David Warner century marks milestone of maturity. |
Of all the retirements that mark out this Test, the one with the most impact on the first day's play was a shot David Warner no longer played.
The great Ryan Harris, taking a tea-time lap of honour before an appreciative Gabba, had the ceremonial ute to himself, but there was room beside him for another retiree: Warner's discarded halfie.
The halfie, for want of a better word, is the get-out shot that crept into Warner's game in the past two years. Half a pull, half a leg-side push, it was neither one thing nor the other. (Perhaps in deference to our New Zealand visitors, it could be called the Bob Cunis.)
It was the type of afterthought that comes to batsmen with more natural talent than they know what to do with. Warner has such a good eye, he thought he could play this lazy non-cricket shot with impunity, until he couldn't anymore, and it began getting him out so frequently that opponents would plan for it.
In the first hour, Brendon McCullum and his bowlers targeted the halfie.
Shortish balls were aimed into the halfie-zone, between Warner's right hip and ribs, and at times three fieldsmen were parked between mid-on and square leg for the anticipated pop off the leading edge. (The width of Warner's edges also added to the hazardousness of the halfie.)
What the New Zealanders did not bargain for was his decision to pack the sort-of shot into retirement.
For an hour he dealt with those balls with a diligent vertical bat. If that meant he did not score, then so be it. By the time he was confident enough to pull, his blade was decisive and horizontal, tapping the ball on the head down to fine leg or smacking it across the chops in front of square. No more of that 45-degree twitch.
The retirement of the halfie added to the cumulative signs of Warner's ability to learn. Never considered one of the great intellects of cricket, he has done what many others have failed to do, which is change his game to eliminate mistakes.
It shows a humility which is also not thought to be a Warner trait. The halfie was a hubris shot, and Warner has accepted the need to treat bowlers with more respect. Brains and responsibility: not the Warner you thought you knew.
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