NEW DELHI: Australia are optimistic about
David Warner‘s performance in the upcoming Ashes series and have backed him to deliver at the top of the order.
While Warner had a challenging tour of India, the selectors had initially been uncertain about his place in the Ashes squad.
However, the head coach,
Andrew McDonald, has provided a strong endorsement of Warner, expressing confidence in his abilities. This suggests that the Australian team believes Warner will be a key player in their campaign against England in the Ashes series.
“We’re optimistic with what Dave’s got left, we’ve picked him in the squad and we feel he’ll play a really big part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship,” McDonald told Australian radio station SEN in Melbourne.
Australian selectors have included David Warner in the squad for the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against India and the first two Ashes Tests.
However, they have also called up
Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw, indicating that they are keeping their options open for the opening batting position. This suggests that there may still be some competition for the top-order slots, and the final decision on who will partner Warner at the top of the batting order will depend on the team management’s assessment of the players’ form and performance leading up to the matches.
“He’s an important part of that squad, and if he wasn’t, we would’ve had a clear checkpoint after the WTC going into the Ashes,” added McDonald.
“That’s not the case, we’ve picked our squad for the first two Ashes tests as well, so he’s clearly in our plans and ready to go.”
Apart from a defiant 200 against South Africa in December, Warner has struggled for runs in recent Tests, making a total of 26 in three innings in the recent tour of India before returning home injured.
Warner had a dire series in England during the last Ashes tour, averaging 9.50, the worst ever by an opener to play 10 innings in a series, with pacer
Stuart Broad taking his wicket seven times.
Warner had a better time of it in 2015, scoring 418 runs at an average of 46.44.
Warner finished the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals with 516 runs at an average of 36.86, down on his career average of 41.54.
“He’s in a good head space,” said McDonald.
“I spoke to him as recently as yesterday, and he’s ready to go. He’s really excited to get back into the camp.”
The Ashes series starts on June 16 at Edgbaston. Australia hold the urn after winning the 2021-22 series 4-0 at home.
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