David Warner‘s future a topic of hot debate after he was humbled in horrible fashion
David Warner’s form was one of the prevailing narratives at the start of this summer. The nature of his first-ball dismissal to Kagiso Rabada will ensure the pressure increases, writes DANIEL CHERNY.
Cricket
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Ten years ago, Ricky Ponting was made to look silly by Jacques Kallis at Adelaide Oval. It wasn’t that the Australian legend was bowled for four, it was that he toppled over while reaching for the ball. It was unbecoming of a player of Ponting’s greatness, a sign that closing in on 38, he was just about done in international cricket.
Ponting read the room, announcing after the second Test of that series against South Africa that he would retire following the decider in Perth. There was no fairytale ending, with the Proteas crushing Australia for the second of their three straight series wins on these shores.
Having turned 36 in October, David Warner is a touch younger than Ponting was when he called it a day, but the manner in which he fell first delivery at the Gabba had parallels with that Kallis ball.
Mark Waugh has stated repeatedly over the past year that Warner does not look like he’s handling extreme pace.
That idea rang true in the first ball after tea on Saturday, when Warner bunted a catch to short leg to fall for a golden duck. It was not that Kagiso Rabada’s bouncer had been particularly quick. The Proteas spearhead clocked only 133.5 km/h, but Warner – looking spooked – played for bounce that never came.
Like Ponting losing his balance, Warner took his eyes off the ball. In doing so the left-hander placed his fate in the lap of the cricket gods, and they weren’t in his corner as Khaya Zondo snaffled a one-hander overhead.
Warner’s form was already one of the prevailing narratives heading into this series, after he was the lone member of Australia’s top five who couldn’t cash in against the lowly West Indies.
That he made a one-day century against England last month, and had continued to make starts against the Windies, provided cause for optimism that he wasn’t yet a spent force.
But even accounting for a very grassy Gabba deck, and a quality South African attack, a first-baller changes the game again.
His Test average over the past two years is 27. That is not sustainable, particularly with a couple more Tests against the Proteas to come then tours of India and England, where Warner’s Test record is underwhelming.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald gave his qualified support for Warner during the week, saying the veteran was in selectors’ plans for those tours as it stood.
“At this stage, we’ve got him in our plans for India,” McDonald said of Warner.
“We’ll see what happens in the next three Test matches, but at this stage he’s firmly in our thoughts.
“There’s been some challenging conditions in India … (and) there’s no doubt we’re going to be challenged there, but first and foremost we’ve got South Africa (and) navigate through that.”
Formlines are an inherently volatile beast, but at the moment Warner’s is trending towards a rapidly advancing finish line.
It is hard to make a case that Warner isn’t significantly past his peak given such an extended sample size of poor to middling form.
The pertinent question for selectors is whether Warner is still a better option than the likes of Marcus Harris, Matthew Renshaw and Henry Hunt, the three likeliest candidates to replace him should he retire or be dropped in coming months.
As Warner’s opening partner Usman Khawaja – himself undone by Protea pace on Saturday – effectively said during the week, it is easy to drop Warner, harder to be confident you’ll be replacing him with someone better.
“I‘ve played domestic cricket for the last few years, I’ve seen what’s around, we have some really good cricketers coming up … but we’ve got no David Warners,” Khawaja said.
“I think the batting line-up we have right now, the top six, are the top six players in the country.
“A few games here doesn‘t really make a difference for me, if you have the choice between picking David Warner or someone else I’d be picking David Warner every day of the week.”
It is arguably too late to drop Warner. Conventional wisdom dictates that the right time to give opportunities to emerging players is against softer opponents.
With that in mind it is worth considering South Africa, and specifically Temba Bavuma. The diminutive batter is no one’s idea of a Test great. This is his 52nd Test and he’s averaging 34.41 with one century. But on Saturday in difficult conditions he dug in for 38, putting on 98 for the fifth wicket with Kyle Verreynne in a total of just 152.
Bavuma probably isn’t even an above average Test batter, but as it stands South African selectors think he’s better than the next option, especially on a challenging tour like this.
Warner looks like he’s close to done, but like Bavuma, this could be a case of the devil you know.
Originally published as David Warner‘s future a topic of hot debate after he was humbled in horrible fashion
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