World Cup 2019: David Warner has lost his destructive edge

The explosive opener isn’t firing, and a touch of panic is creeping into the Aussie camp.

David Warner has not been his explosive self. Picture: Getty Images

David Warner’s destructive edge has gone missing although teammates say his sluggish start to the World Cup can be attributed to quality bowling and tired pitches.

Warner soaked up 50 dot balls in his 56 (84) and while the knock showed grit it also added pressure given Australia was set 353 for victory after their most expensive bowling performance in World Cup history.

It took Warner 77 balls to reach 50 after using up 74 to hit the milestone against Afghanistan.

The 2-1 Aussies are set to swing a bowling change when they look to bounce back from just their fourth loss from their past 47 World Cup games against Pakistan tomorrow.

While Warner’s 148 runs ranks seventh in the tournament, and behind only Steve Smith (160) for the Aussies, the slashing opener’s two half-centuries have been the slowest of his career.

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Warner faced 14 consecutive dot balls in the 36-run loss to India and his World Cup strike-rate of 71.8 sits well below his career strike-rate of 95.5

“Davey obviously didn’t have his best day, but was able to stick it out for a longer period of time instead of throwing his wicket away early,” Glenn Maxwell said.

“He was able to bat deeper, which is a key thing for us. Unfortunately the first big risk he took he got out but another day he hits that for six.

“It might be the conditions, it might be the ball, not really sure. It seems to be doing a little bit more than what I’ve seen it do over here.”

Maxwell said that while “we all expected 500 scores” pre-tournament, the swing and variable bounce was making for tricky batting conditions.

The dazzling allrounder said Warner and captain Aaron Finch “hit the field too much” in the first 10 overs, recording just 10 singles.

Finch pointed out that Australia’s past two games had been played on pitches used for the second time in a matter of days and said India’s spinners trumped his.

A furious Finch marched off the field after he was run out following a mix-up with Warner. Finch had looked sharp, making 36 (35).

While it appeared Australia batted too conservatively with the required run-rate touching 11 with 15 overs remaining, keeper Alex Carey said the tempo was OK.

“We were in the game,” Carey said after blitzing an unbeaten 50 off just 25 balls.

“We had to go 16s for the last few overs and we still back ourselves to do that.”

Steve Smith was promoted to No 3 although his switch with Usman Khawaja was simply to deliver a left-hand, right-hand batting combination.

The Daily Telegraph