David Warner out for second consecutive duck with Stuart Broad making him his bunny
Six failures in seven innings, back-to-back ducks, and a batting average in England of 28.86 tell of a man who needs to make changes. The trouble is David Warner isn’t showing any signs of doing so.
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David Warner was the only member of the Australian top seven batsmen who didn’t have a net session the day before the fourth Test.
Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith were the last to leave, along with captain Tim Paine.
It was an optional training day and, despite a run of five single-figure scores in six innings, Warner, who doesn’t normally bat the day before a match, decided he didn’t need the extra hit.
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The theme is one that has created some mutterings about the one-time star opener. Warner’s habits haven’t changed at any stage throughout the Ashes, on or off-field.
It’s like the 32-year-old, back in Test cricket for the first time since his ban for the ball-tampering incident, hasn’t acknowledged that a lot changed during his 12 months off.
He’s a year older for one, and batting has become much harder for every Australian except Steve Smith.
And while some want to point to a few knocks in Sydney grade cricket last summer, Warner hadn’t any faced serious red ball competition for 15 months before the Ashes began.
That red ball in use is the Dukes too, one Warner has had troubles against before.
He’d never scored a century in England before the series began, in 15 innings, and in five of those efforts he didn’t reach 10.
After six failures in seven innings this series, including back-to-back ducks, his batting average in England has dropped to 28.86.
Warner doesn’t bat well in England, but apparently doesn’t think he needs to do much about it.
At least he showed some emotion after his second ball duck at Old Trafford
When he was loitering in the bar of the team hotel the night before the start of the Test, having, as we mentioned, not trained, eyebrows were raised.
His family is in Manchester too, albeit in a different hotel, with the final allocated partner period set for the last Test in London.
His wife, Candice, gave birth to their third child, in England, in July, so travel back to Australia with a newborn could be tough.
It’s probably not a factor, given Warner’s family have long been travelling fixtures. But it’s a fact.
Plenty have been in Warner’s ear to address his issues, especially against Stuart Broad, who has now got him out five times in the series.
He had an indoor session on Tuesday with coach Justin Langer, where all the balls he faced came from around the wicket.
It was enough for Langer, that same afternoon, to suggest a big Warner score wasn’t too far away.
“He knows he hasn’t had the best of series so far,’ Langer said.
“When really great players miss out a few times - it puts a smile on your face. Because you know they’re not far off.”
No-one is smiling now, however, and after trudging from Old Trafford for a second ball duck, neither was Warner.
It could have been the final bellringing the batsman needed to concede he is in fact the problem, and recognise that only he can change the future.
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