Warner's confrontation with Ponting spurred him against Pakistan in 2019 CWC

Australia’s David Warner was spurred by a fiery confrontation with legendary former batsman Ricky Ponting during the 2019 World Cup which was revealed in a documentary titled “The Test” on Amazon.

After an uncharacteristically tame performance by Warner in their group stage World Cup 2019 encounter against India, Ponting confronted the opening batsman who was playing with the fear of getting out.

“If you’re scared about getting out, f** that. You’ve got to be thinking about getting runs, not be worried about making a mistake. I’ve been there, you start thinking about making mistakes as a player, you’re f**ed. At the end of the day all of you have got nothing to fear, nothing to lose right now. We haven’t got the World Cup. All we’ve got are things to gain and things to win. You need to think that way,” Ponting said.

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The legendary former skipper told the batsman to back his skills and impose himself on the opposition.

 “You are the best cricket team in the tournament. If you keep holding back and being fearful of things, this is going to get harder and harder,” he said. “Keep backing yourself and backing your skills and imposing yourself on the game when the opportunity presents itself.”

The confrontation turned things around for the opening batsman who hit a swashbuckling century (103) against Pakistan in the very next game,

“From the batting point of view I was quite rattled after I ran out Finchy [against India],” Warner confessed in the Aussie sheds. “I felt like I had a fear of getting out. I didn’t feel like I could take that risk. It really hit me [Ponting’s confrontation], and I was just like, ‘OK, I’ll take that on board’. When you’re in a team environment, and you’re giving feedback in front of a group, it can be quite confronting sometimes.”