David Warner is a cricketing Jekyll and Hyde. On home pitches, he monsters opposing bowling attacks, averaging 59.2.
Away from home his average is a modest 37.6, a drop of 21.6 runs.
The stark nature of the differential between his home and away performances is also mirrored in his career century tally – 14 at home, four away.
Three of those four centuries on the road have been compiled in South Africa, including one in each innings at Cape Town in March 2014.
His other away century was scored against Pakistan in the UAE in October of the same year in a match that saw 1259 runs scored for the loss of 32 wickets.
His Test average in South Africa is 90.5; in the UAE, it is 59.8.
Beyond that, his away record makes for very ordinary reading: 24.4 in India, 13.0 in New Zealand, 27.2 in Sri Lanka, 26.9 in West Indies, and 37.1 in England.
For a man who has a career average of 48.3, the gap between his home and away performances seriously reduces his standing in the game.
On the pitches in Australia and South Africa, with their consistent bounce and pace onto the bat, Warner has been as explosive as any top-order batsman to have played the game.
He confidently backs himself to play through the line, marrying a good eye and quick hands to great effect. It is very much a case of see ball, hit ball.
However, when there is sideways movement – through the air in England or off the pitch in the sub-continent – he looks an entirely different batsman.
The current Border-Gavaskar series in India has provided more frustration for Warner.
He has reached double figures in each innings – 38 and 10 at Pune and 33 and 17 at Bangalore – but has been unable to produce a truly meaningful knock.
In the first innings at Pune, he dragged a wide ball from Umesh Yadav onto his stumps while attempting to drive on the up through the covers. In the second innings, he played down the wrong line to Ravi Ashwin and was trapped in front.
First up at Bangalore, his dismissal was ugly. He was caught in two minds when Ashwin delivered a full ball outside leg stump. He looked to be shaping to pad the ball away before following it with his hands as it spun across him, beat the outside edge and clattered into off-stump.
In the second innings, Ashwin had his measure again, with Warner adjudged leg before having attempted to sweep a ball that was too full.
Ashwin has become Warner’s nemesis. The wily off-spinner has dismissed him nine times, the most by any bowler during his 62-Test career. Next best is England seamer James Anderson, who has claimed him seven times.
Prior to the current series, Australia’s on-field leaders espoused different strategies.
Skipper Steve Smith proffered defence as being the key to succeed in India. His deputy believed aggression would be the best way for him to prosper.
Warner said pre-series, that he hoped, “to keep playing his way and our way as Australian cricketers. ‘Boof’ [coach Darren Lehmann] is a massive fan of taking the game on and trying to win from every situation.”
Speaking specifically about Warner prior to the series, Smith challenged him to go big on this tour, saying, “I’m going to be different from Davey, you don’t want to get rid of someone’s natural flair and the way they play. But if he gets a hundred it might be about knuckling down again and going big, get 200 or 300”.
Currently, a century looks a long way off, let alone a double or triple ton.
Warner has eschewed his normally aggressive approach in this series, despite saying before it got underway it was the best method for him is he was to succeed.
Against a career strike rate of 78.2, he is going at 56.0 through the first two Tests – still a healthy click for most players but considerably pedestrian by Warner’s normal standards.
At times, he has appeared to be in two minds as to which is the best way to go about his innings.
Warner is one of the few batsmen who is adept at switch hitting and said after the Bangalore loss that he had considered it as an attacking option to combat Ashwin when he was targeting the rough outside his leg stump.
He said he shelved the idea because he was fearful of being given out leg before wicket if he missed the ball.
According to the laws that would not be the case. The determination of leg and off-side is based on the position of the batsmen’s pads at “the moment the ball comes into play”, which according to the laws of the game, occurs when the bowler commences his run-up.
With that having been pointed out to Warner it may be a tactic that he adopts on occasions in the remaining two Tests.
To date, a softly-softly approach has not borne fruit for him.
Perhaps he would be advised to look to his traditionally more expansive game for the rest of this series.
To date, none of the Australian batsmen have succeeded in putting the Indian bowlers onto the defensive.
As a result, Virat Kohli has had the luxury of employing attacking fields with men huddled around the bat.
A more aggressive Warner could help alleviate that pressure.
Cassia
Guest
I think part of the problem can be seen in his actions soon after he was out. Laughing and joking on the boundary more concerned about his haircut and sunnies than failing again. He just does not seem to care. Could you ever imagine, Border, Waugh, Ponting etc being so carless?
Tanami Singh
Guest
I think that dismissal speaks for itself. Full bunger bunted back to the bowler is the way an out of form man, scared of getting out is dismissed.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I have never said that Warner doesn't have his struggles and he has significantly struggled away from home compared to his home form. But that's different to being a "flat track bully". I personally hate the term, it's a term that's regularly flung around by people with less talent in their entire body than the person that's the target of their ire has in their little finger). But a flat track bully would be someone who only ever scores runs in conditions when basically everyone is scoring runs because it's easy to score runs, and in those conditions they just do awesome. Warner, to this point, has been vastly better in conditions more like he's familiar with at home than away, but that's different to being a flat track bully. A good example of this being that I expect you'd have still backed him to fail even on an Indian "flat-track" because it is still very foreign conditions.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
I'm not basing it on this Test Chris. His record states it all for him....
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
Today in the third Test also he got out for 19 by a full-toss. If Khawaja can be kept out of the playing XI for his spin-bowling weakness, why not Warner, as he is the Vice-Captain, so?
doogs
Guest
I loved Tendulkar and still feel he was magnificent with an amazing record. I checked online and his average was 40.8 outside of Asia. One better than Clarke on 39.5. Does that make them ordinary? I don't think so but it depends on ones passmark
Linphoma
Guest
Spruce, Chris, I have the feeling you are right about India and their formula for Australia and the prospect of Dave Warner at the top of the order. The decks have been tailored to make sure Warner doesn't take the initiative away in the first session. If the middle order bats big then India can handle that - look at the England series where the home side were ok conceding 4-500 runs tin the first dig. But if Warner gets away before lunch and India's fielders get puffed out midway through the day then there you have the scenario where India have to play like men possessed to save the match. Interesting to see how India cope when they come out to bat tomorrow. If If Australia ratchet up another two sessions at bat, are they prepared to play for a draw? And taking their chances to take the Series and the Border Gavaskar Trophy with a win in Dharamsala?
jeznez
Roar Guru
The guy is a glorious batsman on roads which he gets at home - is he the reason the pitches have not been what we expected them to be over the first couple of tests? Does he warrant his place in the side even without scoring heavily if he influences the home sides pitch preparation/decision? Essentially - even if he doesn't turn around his away performance - does he still warrant his spot? Or could he do that named in the 12 and then adjusted in or out come match time depending on the pitch? Not sure his ego would like that but is there a better option on a pitch that doesn't favour him?
spruce moose
Guest
I've not been there far more times btw...a humble 7! But as recently as February. 6 years by any normal standard is a short time. By Indian standards it's like eons. I'd encourage you to revisit, even the shanties and the slums are now starting to (slowly) rise. It's inequality is still deplorable, but the improvement is there. The poor devils aren't as disconnected as they once were. Much like China, India undergoes astonishing change every day...
spruce moose
Guest
Again, you are saying things without providing proof. Warner may have a higher series average than Shaun Marsh (woo hoo) or Handscomb, but both of those boys still managed to stick around long enough to at least pass 50 once. You like referencing Perth - a home test. I'll give you Dubai. Just one piddly overseas example. Sadly, ODI's don't count unless he can back it up in tests. He's not capable of it. It was a 'fighting' 19 today. But don't worry, he'll find form again in November. I guarantee it.
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
I was not seeing it as a competition Spruce. I was merely indicating that I believe I have a good feel of the country although you seem to believe I do not. You are very lucky to have been there so many times as it is a truly wonderful country to visit. I have spent quite a bit of time in areas other than cricket grounds and hotels as I am sure you have too. My last visit there was in 2011. In the time I have been lucky enough to visit the country I have noticed a massive growth in the middle class with a lot more disposable income in that area. I do find it interesting that you presume that I have not experienced India beyond cricket grounds and hotels. Given at times there are 7-10 days between Test matches I have been lucky to see a lot of India. However, as I suggested earlier, I do not believe the new middle class wealth has spread at all sadly to the shanty towns and slums that Thunder Nation referred to and, as I said, I do not think that social media has had a big impact in those areas. But, given you have been there far more times than me, I bow to your experience and accept that I am mistaken.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Can't say that based on this innings! He got out to a full toss! The pitch didn't even come into it! :-)
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Indian's aren't going to pay nearly as much attention to what happens in the West Indies as what happens in India. And in India Warner has a record of having really dominated in the IPL. That's what they've seen of him more than anything, so what they see is a player who, given a flat batting pitch, can destroy any bowling attack. Yes that's T20, but that's what the Indian's have freshest in their minds of seeing David Warner play in India. Meanwhile they know he's struggled to master difficult batting pitches. If Warner gets going he's the sort of player who can take a match away from you very quickly. India would back themselves to win a grind in conditions that don't really suit anyone, but they'd be wary of giving any conditions that would suit the sort of players Australia has who can totally take over a match, players like Warner, Smith, Starc and Hazlewood. That's the quartet they would have been mostly going out of their way to nullify with the pitches. You may look at Warner and think he's not much of a threat, but I can bet you the Indian's look at Warner and want to make sure they avoid letting him have any conditions where he could become a threat.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
To bring out all the examples like I have done on these forums at least once before, takes time that I don't necessarily feel like putting in every single time someone wants to make that comment. But you might want to be careful saying put up or shut up and then making a blatantly wrong statement in the next sentence. Since Warner actually has a better average in this series so far than both Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb, who are both in that top 5 you talk about. Only Renshaw and Smith are actually averaging better than him. And in fact, India only have 3 batsmen averaging better than him so far in the series, and one is only just. So while he's not had a good series, there are plenty of other batsmen doing significantly worse. He's definitely not been "by far the worst". I'm not denying Warner's struggles, but just pointing out the number of times where he manages to make things look easy while everyone else seems to really struggle, in both test innings and ODI innings. (A number of his recent ODI hundreds have been in matches where he's basically carried the team making batting look easy while the other batsmen really seem to struggle). Not only his first test innings in Hobart where he carried his bat, but the next one against India where he scored more himself than India managed in either innings and only one other player in the Aussie top 7 managed to pass 20. There's his hundred in Dubai where the next best score was in the 30's. Then there are others where other players have managed to score runs, but have looked to really struggle doing so while Warner manages to look completely at ease. Sure he's cashed in at times the pitch has been good for batting, but he's shown enough to suggest he should be able to do better than he has been managing so far in this series.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Actually it wasn't. If you care to spend the time looking through his record in all forms of the game you'll find probably something like half his centuries have been scored in matches in which all the other batsmen massively struggled by comparison. Even his second hundred which came in the same summer at Perth, which was one where he blazed away and brought it up in quick time, no other player in that match looked remotely comfortable batting out there. He scored more than India's whole innings and well over half the Australian total. I'm not disagreeing that he has had plenty of struggles, and there are certainly conditions out there he's far from having mastered, but his history of making it look easy in conditions where all other batsmen have struggled definitely goes far beyond that Hobart test. The "outlast" comment is certainly valid. He's still to show the ability to bat through a days cricket. Where he's made a big hundred it's because he's made it quickly.
Basil
Guest
Equal No 1 bowlers in the world apparently...
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Not this Test Glenn. Davey is just a flat track Bully.
spruce moose
Guest
When was the last visit Glenn? P.S I've been more times if we are playing that contest...and I'm half your age. The confines of the commentary box and 5 star hotels may not provide you with the insight you claim to have.
Glenn Mitchell
Expert
Jadeja 41.8 from 8 Tests Ashwin 33.2 from 17 Tests.
Basil
Guest
Interesting. Whats Aswin's and Jade's bowling averages away from India?