Having led the Australians to win the T20 Tri-Series in Auckland, David Warner has plenty of time to reflect on his success.
He’ll be 19 hours in the air from Auckland to Johannesburg to join his Test teammates for the long-awaited four-Test series against South Africa.
Last night in the rain-affected final against the Kiwis, the Australians won by 19 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method.
But it was Warner’s tactics that kept the dangerous Kiwis to 9-150 when last Friday night, on exactly the same pitch, they cracked 6-243.
Despite the fact openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro again got off to a flyer with 0-48 off only 4.3 overs, Warner reeled them in by making 16 bowling changes in 20 overs for the Kiwis to lose 9-102.
Australia was never going to be in danger chasing 151 for victory, not even from the rain.
But the win gave Warner his 11th victory from 12 starts as T20 skipper, more than enough to force the selectors into making the position permanent seeing Australia’s career-best is a 53 per cent success rate.
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Warner can also look back with pride that in the unbeaten five games of the tournament, there were five different Australian men-of-the-match with Billy Stanlake’s 3-15 against the Kiwis at the SCG, Glenn Maxwell’s 103* off 58 against England at Hobart, Kane Richardson’s 3-33 against England at the MCG, D’Arcy Short’s 76 off 44 against the Kiwis at Eden Park, and last night Ashton Agar’s 3-37.
Maxwell rightfully won the man-of-the-series, drawing high praise from both Warner, and the assistant coach Ricky Ponting, who have pointed the explosive Maxwell in the right direction of playing each delivery on its merits, and shedding his cowboy image.
Australia has been the beneficiary.
The one downside, another shoulder injury for the hapless Chris Lynn.
His shoulders have become so frail, the latest must cast some doubt about his future.
That would be a damn shame for one of the world’s most exciting batsmen in the T20 format.
(AAP Image/Darren England)
Then there’s the millions of dollars that will go begging if Lynn has to draw stumps early.
Despite being on the losing side, Guptill can also look back on the tournament with pride.
He became the world’s leading T20 international batsman with 2271 runs, and the first to crack the double of 200 fours, and 103 sixes, from 73 visits to the crease.
That took over from his retired former skipper Brendon McCullum’s 2140 runs from 70 visits, a total which included 199 fours, and 91 sixes.
Only three others have cracked 200-plus boundaries – retired Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 223 with 33 sixes, Virat Kohli with 210 fours and 41 sixes, and Mohammad Shahzad’s 204 boundaries, with 68 sixes.
The leading Australian is Warner with 1792 runs from 70 visits, with 172 fours, and 79 sixes.
Now the shortest format is done and dusted, it’s back to the longest and most traditional form of cricket.
Today, the Australians take on a South African XI over three days in their only tour game.
Benoni is the venue – 28ks from Johannesburg at altitude – leading into the first Test at Durban, starting March 1.
But why a warm-up game at altitude when the first Test is at sea level?
Usman Khawaja will be over Warner’s opening spot for the moment with Cameron Bancroft, followed by Peter Handscomb, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, and Josh Hazlewood.
Jhye Richardson, Chadd Sayers, and Jon Holland miss out.
So fasten the seatbelts Roarers, this promises to be a belter of a series.
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