Swapping the bat for the microphone! David Warner has signed a deal with Fox Sports to move into the commentary booth when his playing career ends – and the Australia star has thanked the late Shane Warne for his next move
- David Warner has agreed to join Fox Sports full-time at the end of his career
- The 36-year-old is in the commentary booth for Big Bash League games
- Warner’s move to Fox Sports was first suggested by the late Shane Warne
- The opener penned an eight-year deal with the broadcasting giant
David Warner has lined up his next career move as he decides to step away from professional cricket, and he has the late Shane Warne to thank after getting his big break at Fox Sports.
On Tuesday, the broadcaster secured TV rights to Australian cricket for another five years in a deal alongside Channel 7, beating US streaming giants Paramount to the deal.
And to celebrate its TV rights success, Fox has announced the signing of Warner to a long-term deal, with the 36-year-old moving into the commentary booth full-time when he calls it a day with bat and ball .
Fox Sports has signed David Warner to an eight-year deal to move into the commentary booth
For now, he will be commentating on the Big Bash League and the formats he didn’t play until he retires.
News Corp revealed that a move had long been on the cards and that Warner’s addition to Fox’s media coverage had been championed by Australian cricket great Warne.
Warne initially urged his TV bosses to snap the combative opener, insisting he is the next great cricket commentator of the current playing cohort.
Fox Sports followed Warne’s advice and tied Warner to an eight-year deal.
‘Warnie was the first to recognize David Warner as a rare commentary talent,’ said Fox Sports executive director Steve Crawley.
Shane Warne (right) initially urged TV bosses to sign the veteran batter to their network
Warne identified Warner as the next great cricket commentator from the current cohort
‘We will never replace Shane Warne or Andrew Symonds on the Fox Cricket commentary team. But if you were given only one chance to pick one recruit from all the cricket in the world, you would pick David Warner.
‘When he comes out, you can double your audience. He made cricket exciting.
‘And he is the same in the twilight of his career as he was at the beginning – a swashbuckling, fearless individual.
‘I have been around sports broadcasting for a long time and believe that David Warner was made for commentary as much as he was made to open the batting. We welcome him to our Fox team.’
The new deal – worth $1.512billion – saw the number of games in the BBL go from 61 to 43 and that change could be implemented a year before the new deal starts in 2024.
Advertisement
