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Warner expects a ‘batters’ battle’ in India-Australia Tests
David Warner has admitted that the “greatest challenge” of winning the upcoming Test series in India, starting February, would be a “batters’ battle” and put the onus on the Australian batting group to find methods to deal with the conditions there. Fresh from the dramatic double century in his 100th Test, the veteran opener already seems to be setting his sights on the four-Test tour, saying that it is “extra motivation” for him to continue in this format.
“We know what we’re going to prepare for, they’re going to be turning wickets. It’s different with the venues, Nagpur and Delhi quite dry, then Dharamsala that time of the year, we’ve played there, and we probably should have won that Test, we lost that ourselves.
“There’s going to be times when it’s going to be challenging over there, but it’s about how our batters can build and bat big like we did in Pakistan. I think with the ball, we’re going to do a fantastic job, we’ve got a world-class spinner in Nathan Lyon and we’re going to have to potentially think about playing two spinners,” said Warner following Australia’s massive series win against South Africa in Melbourne.
“Obviously in Sri Lanka we had good methods and we saw in that first Test in Galle, everyone was playing reverse sweeps and sweeps, everyone had a method and they stuck to it,” he added.
Asked if this would be Australia’s best chance to win that elusive Test series in India, Warner said, “Shall I start the headlines now, before we go over there? I did remember somebody talking about two-day Test the other week. It’s going to be interesting.”
Warner also admitted to being in as “happy a place” as he has been in a “long time” with his cricket and in life following his incredible performance in his milestone Test. Having quashed a lot of the skepticism over how long he could continue as a Test cricketer, the 36-year-old revealed that he still had the “hunger and motivation” to keep doing it.
“I wish you’d start talking about my age, I don’t feel 36. As I said before, I’m running faster than a lot of these youngsters in here so when they catch up to me then I might think about pulling the pin. The extra motivation for me is winning in India, and completely winning a series in England. I’ve been told by the coach and the selectors they would like me to be there. Obviously there was a lot of stuff before this series going on in my mind,” he said.
“Was there doubts? Yeah of course there were doubts in my mind but for me it was about just going out there and still knowing I’ve got that hunger and determination because every time I rock up at training, I’ve got it. And people keep telling me ‘you’ll know when it’s time’, and I haven’t really felt that at all yet. I’m still enjoying it, I still know what energy I can bring to the team. I think once I start losing that spark and energy around training and taking the mickey out of people and playing some jokes here and there, and pranks, I think that’s when I’ll probably know it’s time,” he added.
Warner didn’t hold back when asked about how much of an impact the drama surrounding his leadership ban had had on his preparation for the Test summer.
“It takes its toll immensely. And I’ve got all that happening in the background, and I get a message a night before a Test, these are things you don’t want in the back of your mind. And day two, waking up and a lawyer texts about something that has to be spoken about. These are things that you don’t want on your mind when you’re going to training or go to the game,” he revealed.
“So, for me it was just about trying to get in the right frame of mind, and I just couldn’t because it was difficult. And then when you’re out in the middle, you’re trying to be as positive as you can. And I was hitting them as well as I thought I could, but I was just getting no luck. You make your own luck in this game, the game owes you nothing and fortunately enough in this game it paid off, which I’m really happy about,” Warner further added.
He also insisted that it was all behind him now and that he had his eyes set on the road ahead, with no more distractions. “Yep, hundred per cent. That’s all parked now, I don’t have to worry about that, I’m not even thinking about it. The focus is now towards Sydney, and getting myself right for BBL.”
Warner had spoken before the MCG Test about wanting to go back to his former aggressive self. He kept his word too, showing a lot of intensity with his running between the wickets but also looking to take the game to the South Africans both in terms of his mind-set and a slight change in his technique. And he felt that he’d be sticking to this approach going forward for the rest of his Test career.
“You go back to last year against England, I thought the Gabba was probably one of the best innings I’ve played for a long time – I left patiently, I couldn’t drive anything on that wicket. The poor curator’s had tough times the last two years, but for us it’s about adapting to what’s in front of us. I was just thinking to myself ‘so be it, if I’m gonna go down swinging I may as well go down playing a cover drive and nick off rather than defending and getting caught at third slip,” he said.
“It’s one of those things I’ve always had in the back of my mind, just go out there and play that way. I think I’ve allowed myself to go a bit defensive instead of looking to score because of the wickets. If you look at the way Travis Head has come out and played his natural game, he managed to do that last year against England in Hobart, and he’s done it continuously through this summer as well.
“It’s about just having that comfort of backing yourself and I always do that but I felt a sense of responsibility to actually adapt to the wicket and conditions that were in front of me. But now it’s just going back to looking to score then my defence will take care of itself,” he said.
(Cricbuzz)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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