Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has insisted that David Warner remains in his plans for the forthcoming Ashes series. The 36-year-old has endured a lean run in the longest format of the game, recording just one 50-plus score in his last 15 visits to the crease, which incidentally was a double century at the last Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
He was picked in the squads for both the one-off World Test Championship final as well as the Ashes series against England that follows but chief selector George Bailey was non-committal on the veteran’s first-choice status in the latter of the two assignments in the UK given it is the start of a new cycle for the team. Bailey and team did pick Marcus Harris as a reserve opener with Matt Renshaw another contender to join Usman Khawaja at the top of the order.
McDonald however has picked to make light of those options for now, repeating that Warner remained a lot of focal in the group’s plan to hold the urn. “We’re hopeful with what Dave has left, we picked him in the crew and we feel he will have a truly critical impact in the Remains and the World Test Title last,” the lead trainer told SEN on Wednesday (May 24).
He’s a significant piece of that crew. What’s more, in the event that he wasn’t, then, at that point, we would have had a reasonable designated spot (to pick another crew) after the World Test Title. That is not the situation… He’s plainly in our arrangements, and he’s all set. We’re in consistent contact with him. He knows precisely where he sits with us. That is the reason he’s on the plane. We believe he has a few decent games left in him.”
Part of the purposes behind the question marks over Warner was his record in the last Remains when he more than once tumbled to Stuart Expansive’s around-the-wicket point. McDonald pointed at the 2015 series in the UK when the opener passed 50 in every one of the five Tests to reestablish his capacity against the moving Duke’s ball.
“You can attract on a few positive encounters Britain in 2015… he was averaging mid-40s [46.44]. He’s had accomplishment there. It’s not like he hasn’t had outcome in those circumstances,” said McDonald. “So we’re supporting him to draw on all that he has.
“Driving into the Boxing Day Test, the Judgment day individuals were out there then too. He’s actually got a lot to draw upon. We saw right off the bat in the IPL a pattern up concerning his structure there – he began slow, the cynics were out again around his game, and afterward he had the option to bounce back and answer.
“He’s in a decent head space. I addressed him as of late as yesterday, and he’s all set. He’s truly eager to get once more into the camp.”
