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The Ashes: David Warner is emerging from his slump

19th July, 2015
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David Warner walks off the field. (Photo: AP)
Expert
19th July, 2015
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2314 Reads

David Warner has showed evidence in this second Ashes Test that he is emerging from a slump, in an ominous sign for England.

Granted, the Australian opener twice gifted his wicket to Moeen Ali here at Lord’s, with his first innings dismissal showing maddening impatience.

SECOND ASHES TEST – FULL SCORECARD

But en route to tallying 121 runs for the match, he’s looked more assured and fluent than he has for more than six months.

Warner started the last Australian summer in scintillating touch, cracking tons in both innings at Adelaide.

At that point, he had claims to be the most valuable batsman in Test cricket, having reaped 1029 runs at an average of 94, including 6 tons from his previous 11 innings.

More:
>> REPORT: Aussies level Ashes series with 405-run win
>> David Warner emerges from his slump
>> Liebke ratings – Second Ashes Test

He had overcome the final hurdle on his route to becoming an elite Test batsmen – success in foreign conditions.

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Warner had cowed the ferocious South African pace attack in their own backyard before flourishing against Pakistan’s spinners on dry wickets in the UAE.

Between that Adelaide Test and this one at Lord’s he lost his way. He had tempered his aggression and with that had lost both confidence and effectiveness, averaging just 29 in that period across six Tests.

In the series opener at Cardiff he looked horribly out of touch as he continually groped at deliveries outside off, his balance betraying him.

When he’s seeing them well, arguably Warner’s greatest strength is that he intimidates bowlers.

He is so quick to clatter full deliveries and so vicious on anything short of a length that opponents know a margin for error does not exist.

At Cardiff, Warner looked a weak imitation of his cavalier, commanding self. Perhaps an attempt to rediscover his machismo was the catalyst for his embarrassing dismissal in the first innings here.

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Cruising on 38 from 42 balls, and having already cracked Moeen Ali for two boundaries in the over, Warner tried to blast the English spinner one more time from the final delivery.

He charged at Moeen, who dragged his delivery a bit shorter, only for Warner to still try to hit the ball out of the stadium, instead lobbing it up for a catch.

After looking so in control at the crease, he had frittered away a start. The second innings presented a perfect scenario of Warner to continue to rediscover his rhythm.

With Australia owning a gigantic first innings lead he had license to go after the English bowlers. While it wasn’t quite vintage Warner, he hit the ball sweetly, gathering 12 boundaries amid a knock of 83 from 116 balls.

Watching on from the sidelines, the Australian coaches and skipper Michael Clarke must have been delighted by what they saw. An in-form Warner makes Australia a much better and much more explosive side.

No other opener in world cricket can change the state of a match as swiftly and comprehensively as he can.

In the new ball period, the bowling side often rules the roost and the batsmen are left to battle for survival.

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Eventually, as the batsmen get accustomed to the pace and bounce of the pitch and begin to predict the ball’s trajectory with greater ease, they become comfortable and start to place the fielding side under pressure.

But in that initial 10-15 overs when the bowlers are fresh and the ball is swinging, the fielding side have often built momentum already. If not achieved through wickets then this also can be done by shackling the batsmen and leaving them scratching for runs.

Batsmen who can withstand this period of tension and then go on to forge influential innings are highly prized.

Those who can flip the whole situation on its head are the most valuable players in the game. There have been few in Test history – batsmen who, in just the first few overs of an innings, can make the opposition feel as though they are under siege.

Warner doesn’t just score mountains of runs, he alters the tone of a match, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

When he flays an attack in the first half hour of a Test it deflates the opposition and makes batting far easier for both his partner and those still to come.

Australia will be hoping he can do just that over the coming three Tests, offering the tourists an enormous advantage in the process.

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