David Warner explains why he WON’T sign another contract with Cricket Australia – as he reveals his shocking daily routine before meeting wife Candice

•  Warner says he will knock back a Cricket Australia contract
•  Says he wants more flexibility to play white ball cricket
•  Reveals Candice taught him discipline and a better attitude

David Warner has opened up about why he won’t accept another contract with Cricket Australia – and why meeting his wife Candice turned his life around and rid him of some shocking habits for a professional athlete.

Warner, 37, has been a key member of the Australian side since 2011, but plans to retire from Test cricket this summer after the third Test against Pakistan at the SCG.

The Aussie side is then scheduled to play ODI and T20 matches against the West Indies – but Warner will not take part.

However, that doesn’t mean he will be retiring from all formats, with the batting legend keen to play white ball cricket into 2025.

Warner says he will refuse a contract from Cricket Australia so he will have more flexibility around where he can play – as well as spending more time at home with his family. 

David Warner wants to keep playing white ball cricket and says he’ll not accept a contract from Cricket Australia

The veteran batsmen credits the former Ironwoman champion with turning his life around

‘I won’t be taking a contract, definitely not,’ Warner told reporters on Thursday. 

‘How the system works in Australia is that if you play five [T20] games or ODIs, or three Tests, you get upgraded and then you’re legally bound by contracting system with sponsors and stuff.

‘That’s something that becomes a bit of a pain in the backside, especially at my stage of my career.

‘So I don’t want to be signed to that agreement and that’s something I have to think about moving forward, because if you’re going to get a low contract, it’s going to cost you a lot in the long run with sponsorships.’

‘I’ve got to sit back and have a look at what the schedule is, the (ICC) Future Tours schedule and you’ve got a Champions Trophy that’s coming up as well. So they’re potentially on my horizon.’

Warner credits meeting his wife, and former pro ironwoman, Candice as completely transforming his attitude and discipline. 

‘My biggest driving force is attitude,’ he says. ‘That’s one thing you can control. You can control attitude. It’s about how you wake up in the morning.

‘I was waking up at 10-11 o’clock in the morning before I met Candice. Then my day would start at 2pm. That’s how my days were back then.

Warner says that before he met his wife he was waking up at 10 or 11 in the morning – but Candice’s discipline and attitude rubbed off

Warner is looking to spend more time with his family as his career winds down

‘Candice came into my life. I thought she was silly, getting up at 4am and going to training, like, be in the water by 6am, that’s not ideal. 

‘Then I started training at six in the morning, went to the gym, and then all of a sudden it’s 7.30am and I’m like, “It’s actually great. Jeez, it’s refreshing”.

‘Her discipline and attitude changed my mindset of what I had to do. That was a system I had to put into place. Work hard, train hard and the rewards will come. 

‘It wasn’t through fluke that I got opportunities. It was through hard work and commitment to what I needed to do.

‘Just get my body into the right physique. You should have seen me. I was much bigger than what I am now. I was much more powerful, but I wasn’t in the physique, where you go like he’s a professional cricket player in the modern game. For me, I just had to work hard and it was an attitude thing.’

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