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David Warner has copped a lot of flak lately for his remarks during the South African series. The reality is he won’t care very much.
On Saturday with 135 off 152 balls, after raising a hundred off 104 deliveries, Warner showed that he is very much in the discussion when it comes to the world’s best opening batsmen.
More significantly, Warner could eventually become Australia’s greatest opening batsman ever.
Warner exploded onto the international stage in 2009 when he blasted 89 off 43 balls against South Africa in a Twenty20 international at the MCG.
Two years later he graduated to the Test team and showed he warranted his place in the side with a brilliant 123 not out in a narrow loss to New Zealand on a green-top in Hobart. The next=-highest score in the game was 56.
Then came the tour de force against India in Perth: 180 off 159 balls with 20 fours and five sixes!
Many said a superstar had arrived, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. His next 33 innings only resulted in one century and an average of 32.39.
There were flashes of brilliance, like 119 off 112 balls against South Africa, or four half-centuries in a row against Sri Lanka, but by and large it was thrash and miss, even in English pubs against Joe Root.
A new partner, a new diet, a new coach and an improved attitude has seen Warner blossom since the Ashes in England.
In his last 14 innings he has scored 872 runs at 67.07. He has made four centuries and four half-centuries.
None of these runs have been frivolous smashes. He made the most runs in the Ashes series, his scores of 49, 124, 29, 83, 60 and 112 in the first three Tests playing a big role in Australia regaining the urn.
Against South Africa Warner is doing everything he can to prove the Proteas are not the world’s best side. Scores of 12, 115, 70, 66 and 135 are outstanding returns.
What’s more impressive is Warner’s Test strike rate of 72 hasn’t dropped in this sudden surge of scoring.
He is able to restrain himself more, but the runs can still flow. Additionally Australia has not lost a Test in which Warner made a century.
Bradman in his classic 1958 treatise The Art of Cricket said the essence of the game was to score as many runs as quickly as possible.
There are few cricketers who can change the course of the match more quickly than David Warner. No opener in Australian history has scored as swiftly as the pugnacious left-hander.
In terms of averages, Australia’s best opening batsman was Sid Barnes who averaged 63.05 in only 13 Tests. Bob Simpson amassed 3364 runs at 56.14.
The vastly underrated Simon Katich scored 2928 runs at 50.48 while Justin Langer transformed himself from a middle order player to a gritty and aggressive opener, scoring 5009 runs at an average of 48.16.
Except for Barnes, those openers all spent time in the middle order during their careers. Below is a list of some of the better openers Australia has had who performed exclusively as openers.
Warner, with his climbing average and superior strike rate, is already starting to enter the frame as one of Australia’s best.
| Name | Runs After 30 Tests | Average After 30 Tests |
| Arthur Morris | 2468 | 51.41 |
| Matthew Hayden | 2354 | 50.85 |
| Mark Taylor | 2694 | 50.83 |
| Michael Slater | 2521 | 49.43 |
| Bill Lawry | 2284 | 44.78 |
| David Warner | 2322 | 44.65 |
| Name | Career Runs | Average |
| Arthur Morris | 3553 | 46.48 |
| Matthew Hayden | 8625 | 50.73 |
| Mark Taylor | 7525 | 43.49 |
| Michael Slater | 5312 | 42.83 |
| Bill Lawry | 5234 | 47.15 |
| David Warner | 2322 | 44.65 |
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