Warner prepares for emotional return to SCG

Six weeks after Phillip Hughes was fatally struck by a bouncer, Australian opener David Warner is unsure how he will cope with an emotional return to the SCG for the fourth and final Test against India starting on Tuesday.

Warner said it will be tough to hold back emotions at the SCG after watching Hughes sustained a blow to his neck in a domestic Game in November last year that led to his death.

“This Test I honestly can’t tell you until I go out there and sing that national anthem and walk out there,” Warner said. “At the moment, not just for me but for the guys that were here (when Hughes was struck) as well they are putting on a brave face,” said Warner. Teammates Brad Haddin, Nathan Lyon and Shane Watson were fielding at the SCG when Hughes was fatally struck on his neck on 

November 25 that led to his death two days later.

Warner admitted that it will be difficult not to think about the incident while playing the Test. “It is going to be emotional. I know when I go to face up at that Randwick End, I’m going to be looking down at that spot. It’s going to be tough but I’ve got to try and hold back the emotions and do what I do for the team and try and score runs.

“Just walking out there on Sunday (for training), just brought back memories. We came out here for training on Sunday and on Saturday was okay but I was just standing out there just before talking to a friend of mine and just talking about the incident and know where I was fielding and now every time I go out there to field it’s going to be in the back of my mind, whoever we’re playing,” said the 28-year-old opening batsman.

Warner said while the recent birth of daughter Ivy with his partner Candice Falzon has helped bring a sense of calm and perspective to his life, it has also enabled him to develop a keener understanding of what Hughes’s devastated family are enduring.

“It’s helped me a lot (to cope) now that I’ve got a daughter, and every time I go home I’ve got a big smile on my face to see my fiancee, Candice, and my daughter Ivy,” he said.