David Warner insists Stuart Broad has not got inside his head, despite admitting he has Barmy Army taunts over the English seamer’s record against him stuck on the mind.
Warner has retained his spot at the top of Australia’s order for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, as the tourists push for their first Ashes series win in England since 2001 .
The decision came after speculation over whether Warner could be squeezed out, after a double-failure at Headingley last week took his series average to 23.5.
Also of rising concern to a number of ex-players is Warner’s record against Broad.
The left-hander has now been dismissed by Broad 17 times in his career, including twice in seven balls against him at Headingley last week.
Devoid of any real sledging aimed in his direction in this series, Warner quipped on a podcast this week he had been playing Barmy Army chants over and over while facing up to bat.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Included in those is the chant of “Broady is gonna get you”, after the opener heard it on repeat throughout the opening Test at Edgbaston and in the matches that followed.
But regardless, the 36-year-old insisted Broad’s record against him was not genuinely on his mind when facing up the quick.
“I don’t really think about the match-up,” Warner said on the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast. “You think about the ball that’s coming at you, how you are going to score. He bowls in a great area all the time.
“I always love facing Broady. We have two left-handed opening batters and he is one of, if not the best bowler to left-handers in today’s game. He is so good at it.
“Jimmy (Anderson) is there as well. These are guys we have watched and played against for a long time.”
Warner was also adamant he still feels in fine form ahead of the fourth Ashes Test, arguing Broad simply beat him with two good balls at Headingley.
The left-hander began the tour with a fighting 43 against India in the World Test Championship final, and hit 66 in the second Ashes Test at Lords.
Australia have also regularly pointed to the fact he and Usman Khawaja have made three half-century opening stands to help set up their 2-1 series lead.
“I feel like I am in great touch,” Warner said. “I have felt good in the nets, leading in I had good sessions against our quicks at Beckenham (before the series).
“Lord’s was probably the best I’ve batted in the last two years. Just holding my line. We have batted in probably the toughest conditions so far. In Leeds I got two good balls. You can’t do too much about that … You just have to take it on the chin, can’t do anything about it.”
England will adopt a win-at-all-costs mentality for the fourth Ashes Test, prepared to play even more aggressively in a bid to try and beat the rain at Old Trafford.
The hosts enter Wednesday’s Test needing to win to keep the series alive, with a draw enough for Australia to retain the Ashes with a 2-1 scoreline and one more match to play.
Rain has fallen every day in Manchester for the past week, and while the forecast is better for the first two days it is much more bleak over the weekend.
That has emerged as a genuine issue for England, who fear their chances of winning back the Ashes for the first time since 2015 could be washed away by bad weather.
“You never want to look too much into the weather but in the position we find ourselves in, we find we might have to,” England captain Ben Stokes said.
“We know we have to win this game to take it to the last game for us to have a chance of getting the urn back. Going into the last game 2-0 down, we knew we had to win that so I think that helped us a little bit.
Player of the match Mark Wood with England captain Ben Stokes. (Photo by Stu Forster/2023 Getty Images)
“Maybe again with the weather that’s predicted, it might bring more out of us again knowing that we might have to push the game on even more than we normally do.”
The hosts will likely have to do it without Stokes bowling, with the England skipper hoping not to be required after a knee injury prevented him using himself at Headingley.
Regardless, England will almost certainly want to win the toss and bowl on Wednesday, with their long preference being to chase and control the tempo of the game.
That would also give them the opportunity to declare behind in the first innings if required, and also know the rate they must score to push for a win in the fourth innings.
Australia also maintain they are here to win the series and secure their first success in England since 2001.
But captain Pat Cummins has said while it is too early to begin planning for rain, he wouldn’t risk a possible loss at Old Trafford to go hard chasing a win. At the same time though, Cummins does not want his players thinking about the series situation and reverting to playing for a draw too early if there were several rain delays.
“Any player is at their best when they are trying to win a game and compete,” Cummins said. “It’s one of those things you can’t think about too much. Forecasts are necessarily that accurate. Things change quickly.
“You go out to win and if there is a big shift in conditions and you need to change the way we think about it, we do.”
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