Warner ready for cricket’s ultimate test

Australia is sweating on the fitness of David Warner for the third test. He is yet to score a run in the series, but he’s not far behind the rest of his side.

David Warner, with wife Candice and their daughters, arrives at the Australian team’s hotel in Sydney on Monday. Picture: Tim Pascoe

David Warner wasn’t quite hobbling when he arrived in Sydney with his family and teammates on Monday, but the injured player’s predicament perfectly sums up the challenge Australia faces ahead of the critical third Test.

With India levelling the series one-all in Melbourne, Australia is sweating on the fitness of Warner and hoping to introduce young Will Pucovski to the top of the order in the hope the pair can right the ship. Last summer Warner came to town with 630 Test runs from the previous matches under his belt, including an undefeated 335 in Adelaide.

This summer he is yet to score a run, but he’s not far behind others. Nobody in the current side has scored a half century and Steve Smith is in an alarming dry patch.

Warner injured his groin in the limited-over series but has promised to play on one leg if necessary. Pucovski, who is recovering from his ninth concussion, underwent medical tests which are expected to clear him to play.

Australian captain Tim Paine, centre, leaves the team's hotel in Melbourne on Tuesday. Picture: William West/AFP

The players flew to town on a chartered flight with the Indian team and were greeted by enormous thunderstorms soon after they checked into their hotel.

The match will go ahead at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday, with the ground at just 25 per cent capacity after the NSW government dialled back the crowds to about 12,000. “We’ve had 150,000 people through the SCG in the last nine months, not a single transmission,” Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd said.

Even so, Acting NSW Premier John ­Barilaro said people from the state’s regions should reconsider their ­“annual pilgrimage” to this year’s third Test.

“We love coming to Sydney for this purpose and a lot of the members are from regions,” he said.

Australian bowlers Nathan Lyon, left, and Pat Cummins in Melbourne on Monday. Picture: William West/AFP)

“In normal times I would say that is fantastic, but I would be saying to people today to consider what’s occurring in Sydney with the infections and the restrictions.

“The risk would be that if someone from the regions comes to Sydney that they could take it back to a regional area.

“My advice to people would be — think about it, reconsider, maybe this year isn’t the year to come to Sydney to watch the Test, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”

And yet there is one further headache, one organisers have no control over: a 50 per cent chance of showers on Thursday, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Despite that, another potential hurdle for the Test series — the Indian side’s hesitation to travel to Brisbane for the final match if they were to be confined to their hotel rooms — appears to be subsiding.

Cricket Australia’s interim chief executive, Nick Hockley, said he had spoken to the Board of Control for Cricket in India and made it clear the team would be able to roam the Brisbane hotel bubble.

“We’ve had nothing formal from the BCCI to suggest anything other than they are supportive,” Mr Hockley said. “So everyone’s fully across that, and supportive.”

India's Shubman Gill, right,leaves the team's hotel in Melbourne on Monday. Picture: AFP