It’s up to the top four to stand up, says David Warner

David Warner admits Australia’s top four need to stand up as they go in pursuit of just an undefeated home summer

Matthew Wade, David Warner and D’Arcy Short prepare for the New Zealand series

David Warner admits Australia’s top four need to stand up as they go in pursuit of just their third undefeated home summer of the modern era.

Beaten in their past five one-day internationals, Australia will return to more familiar soil for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand starting on Friday in Sydney.

Wins in all three matches would secure them an unbeaten summer at home, after easily discarding New Zealand and Pakistan in Test matches as well as Sri Lanka in Twenty20s.

If they do so, it would mark only the third time an Australian team has pulled off the feat, previously achieved in 2000-01 and 2009-10.

“We always want to continue to win on home soil regardless of how well we have been going this summer,” Warner said.

“The priority literally is to win every game you play at home. There’s no excuses.

“You have a lot of stuff that is in your favour with the biggest thing being the crowd.”

Coach Justin Langer was part of the 2000-01 side, with the goal put on a board as the players began that summer under captain Steve Waugh.

No such target was detailed last October but Australia now have their eyes on finishing the job.

“It wasn’t spoken about, winning every game we play,” Matthew Wade said. “We’d love to do that again at home. It would be nice to win these games at home and finish the summer unbeaten in Australia.

“We haven’t really spoken about it, we’re just trying to become a better team whenever we go out on the ground.”

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To do that though, things will need to improve on where they were in South Africa.

Australia lost their first three wickets for less than 100 runs in all three games, and found the going hard for runs late on the slower wickets after the rebuild.

A similar problem was also exposed in their two losses in India last year, after Warner and Aaron Finch shot out of the blocks in a 10-wicket win in the series opener. But the home wickets should suit Australia’s style of hard hitting late.

“It’s hard to put my finger on (what went wrong),” Warner said. “We had a great win in that first game against India. The only thing I could probably put it down to is the top four not scoring the bulk of the runs. At least one of us needs to be there at the end. Marnus (Labuschagne) showed that the other day with that big hundred in Potchefstroom.”

Meanwhile, Australia will face defending champions England in a blockbuster beginning to their women’s Cricket World Cup campaign in New Zealand next year.

The ICC unveiled the draw for the eight-nation, 31-match ODI tournament on Wednesday and trumpeted increased total prizemoney of $5.3 million, up from $3 million at the previous tournament four years ago.

With just four teams having qualified, the draw features numerous gaps, although the dates and venues are all in place.

Hosts New Zealand will face a qualifier in the opening match at Eden Park on February 6.

The Australia-England clash follows a day later at the iconic Auckland venue, bringing together two teams who have won 10 of the 11 editions of the tournament dating back to 1973. Australia are six-time champions while the English made it four titles when they hosted the 2017 tournament. Australia’s matches against New Zealand and South Africa will be in Wellington and Hamilton respectively while they will face the four nations still to qualify in Tauranga, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton.

Christchurch’s Hagley Oval will host the final on March 7. ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said the record prize pool reflected the growing status of the women’s game off the back of the success of the just- completed women’s Twenty20 in Australia which the hosts won.

AUST WOMEN’S SCHEDULE:
Feb 7, v England in Auckland Feb 10, v qualifier in Tauranga Feb 13, v NZ in Wellington Feb 16, v qualifier in Wellington Feb 21, v qualifier in Christchurch Feb 24, v qualifier in Hamilton Feb 26, v South Africa in Hamilton

AAP