Back in 2009 Virender Sehwag predicted that David Warner will play Test cricket. Fast forward to 2015 he has surely surpassed Sehwag’s wildest expectations.
The first Australian in 132 years to play for the national team without playing any first class cricket has repaid the faith shown in him by Australian selectors.
He averages 46.83 in 38 Tests with 12 hundreds at strike rate of 75, which proves he belongs to the Test arena. Interestingly, nine of those hundreds have come after the 2013 Ashes in Australia where he was one of the chief destroyers of England’s bowling, with five hundreds in succession.
Warner was also part of the winning World Cup squad and the leading run scorer in IPL 2015, and is without a doubt key to Australia’s Ashes bid. He has scored runs in India, South Africa, UAE and Australia. Next in line is the most classic battle of all time – the Ashes against England.
England is going to be on his mind as he did not have a great time last time around in Ashes 2013, scoring just a half century in three matches which Australia went on to lose 3-0. Come July 8 he will have five Test matches to prove himself.
While Australia seems to be the favourite on the back of the World Cup and a Test series win against West Indies, England at home are as strong as any top ranked team.
Jimmy Anderson with duke ball is always penetrative along with Stuart Broad who is always at you. To add to it there is the in-form Steve Finn, Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett and Chris Jordan. In batting Alastair Cook is slowly getting to back his best, Adan Lyth had a good series against the Kiwis and add to that Joe Root, Jos Butler and all rounder Ben Stokes, and you are in for a contest here.
Any complacency could see Australia fall behind in the series. But Knowing Australia they will be well prepared to handle it. With Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc, Ryan Harris, Josh Hazlewood, along with Peter Siddle and ever improving Nathan Lyon, Australia have a good headache to pick three pacemen to field in first Test at Cardiff.
Given the quality of bowling on both sides it’s clear that the series will be decided on who bats well. David Warner at top becomes key here.
His attacking instincts coupled with his ability to play big innings could take the game away from the opposition. If Warner gets going Australia could find themselves with 400-450 runs on the first day, giving themselves a good chance to win the match.
As you move down the batting order they have Steven Smith at number three, current number one batsmen in Tests, with Michael Clarke at number four with Adam Voges and Brad Haddin to follow. On paper it looks very good.
Yet Smith may not be best suited to number three given the conditions in England, while Clarke has not been consistent for some time and Voges is still adjusting to the national level. Brad Haddin has only scored 230 runs in his last 15 innings, further making the line-up vulnerable.
So it becomes important for Warner to make big runs and at a strike rate which demoralises the opposition. He needs to take the pressure off the entire team.
This series, like the Ashes in the past, will be decided on who bats better, which team makes crucial moments count, taking those half chances and who attacks or counterattacks when needed. It is a perfect platform for Dave Warner.
Expect Dave Warner to be in the news in coming weeks. Whether it will be for his talking or batting we will have to wait and watch.
But surely this could turn out to be the series of the year with a few close matches, a tight finish and a dramatic collapse. It will be worth watching.
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