Australia needs banned stars Steve Smith and David Warner to come back and save batting crisis
Any tentative plans Cricket Australia had to gauge the dressing room attitudes on the return of banned stars Steve Smith and David Warner have been thrown out the window, following their MCG massacre.
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Steve Smith and David Warner will go from spurned outcasts to white knights rushed back to save Australia’s batting crisis.
Cricket Australia’s plan to carefully gauge dressing room attitudes towards the banned duo have been rendered redundant, as captain Tim Paine declared it was “clear” the team needs Smith and Warner back as a matter of urgency.
In the meantime, Paine made the frank admission that “there’s not too many options” for change, with all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne the only addition to Australia’s squad for the do-or-die final Test in Sydney where India are shooting for a historic series victory on a pitch that’s tipped to spin.
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Fractured relationships and lingering tensions within the dressing room had cast major doubt over Warner’s chances of a comeback, but that potential flashpoint will be avoided due to a broken system where he remains one of only two world class batsmen available — the other being Smith.
Australia have just delivered the third worst batting performance of the past 100 years, as a yearly collective batting average of just 26.03 left the axe hanging over Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh following the Boxing Day disaster.
Pat Cummins turned in one of the great all-round performances, but it couldn’t stop India rampaging to a 137-run win that has Australia on the verge of becoming the first side to suffer the ignominy of losing a series to India on home soil.
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With precious few alternatives available, Paine has made no secret of the fact the Australian team is virtually counting down the minutes until March 29 when Smith and Warner are cleared for an international return.
“I think that’s pretty clear. If you took (Cheteshwar) Pujara and Virat (Kohli) out of India’s side I think you’d have the same conversation.
“If you’ve got world-class players that aren’t in your team, are they going to add to our team? I think they will.
“So while at the moment it’s challenging and everyone’s frustrated, it is what it is and everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and we’re getting guys who are getting experience of high pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job.
“At times you’re going to get inconsistency from guys that are in that situation.
“The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do it will make a huge difference.”
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Warner has now received overwhelming endorsement from both the Test captain Paine and the one-day skipper Aaron Finch in the space of three days.
It virtually guarantees his selection for both the World Cup starting in May and the Ashes to follow, with the only remaining questions now whether selectors rush Warner and Smith back for two one-dayers in early April or wait until the World Cup itself.
And where will they be ranked on the contract list after already losing $7 million each out of their bans?
The “reintegration” plan CA chief Kevin Roberts has been spruiking in recent days will no longer culminate in a final decision, given it’s obvious Warner will be welcomed back no matter how much behind-the-scenes massaging is required.
“We’re getting towards the end when those guys are coming back,” said Paine.
“That’s what the conversation should be around now. It’s all been out there (the interviews).
“People have had their say and the guys have nearly finished their bans and done their time.
“I think it’s time we started focusing on the fact they’re coming back and from that there are real positives.”
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Originally published as Australia needs banned stars Steve Smith and David Warner to come back and save batting crisis
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