David Warner looms as unlikely saviour for third Ashes Test

DAVID Warner has returned from a brief exile in South Africa as a rare species, an Australian batsman with recent runs under his belt.

ONLY a few weeks ago, the notion that David Warner could be a potential saviour for Australia's hopes of staying alive in the Ashes series would have seemed far-fetched.

Now he has returned from a brief exile in South Africa as that rarest of species, an Australia batsman with recent runs under his belt.

As such, he seems to have a good chance of making his first appearance in the series at Old Trafford tomorrow as Australia seeks to stiffen its flimsy upper order.

This was the batsman, remember, whose career appeared to be sliding off the rails after being disciplined twice in three weeks, first for a rant on Twitter against two journalists, then for punching Joe Root on a drunken night out in Birmingham.

He was involved in another altercation during Australia A's game against its South African counterparts last weekend, this time exchanging sharp words with Thami Tsolekile, the opposing wicketkeeper, and forcing the umpires to intervene.

More pertinently to the Ashes series, though, Warner had made 193 in the first innings.

After two Tests against England, the highest runscorer in Australia's top six is Shane Watson, with a meagre 109 runs from four innings.

The appeal of bringing an attacking batsman with even the briefest flurry of form into this line-up seems obvious. Warner averages a shade under 40 from his 19 Test appearances.

"He's one of those batsmen the opposition know they have to get out quickly," Chris Rogers, the opening batsman, said yesterday.

"If he bats for a while he can take the game away, like an [Adam] Gilchrist used to do."

Rogers, 35, is enjoying an unexpected return to international cricket after a solitary Test in 2008. He was asked yesterday whether "enjoying" was the right word to describe being a part of Australia's struggling top order.

His first response was a wry chuckle.

"It's been interesting," he said. "There are things about it that are quite intense and hard to enjoy.

"But the fact that you're playing for your country, it's a fantastic thing to do and I feel very privileged."

Such a candid response was refreshing to hear, but it was also a reminder of the suffocating pressure Australia's batsmen will find themselves under should they fail again.

The Times