Australian coach Andrew McDonald defended the selection of underperforming Australian opener David Warner for the World Test Championship final and Ashes 2023 despite his poor form in red-ball cricket. The left-handed opener has not managed to live up to the reputation in Tests in the last couple of years as he could make an impact for his team in the longer format of the game.
The 36-year-old was in rousing form as he scored a brilliant double ton against South Africa in Melbourne in December 2022, but after that, he managed just 26 runs in three innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2023 Test series in India before an elbow injury ruled him out of the remainder of the four-match series.
Speaking on SEN, Andrew McDonald backed the Australian southpaw to play a vital role for the Baggy Green in the World Test Championship final and Ashes 2023 and reckons that he is an important player to have in the team and said that is the reason behind his inclusion in the squad.
“We’re optimistic with what Dave’s got left, we’ve picked him in the squad and we feel he’ll play a really big part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship,” Andrew McDonald said.
“He’s an important part of that squad, and if he wasn’t, we would’ve had a clear checkpoint after the WTC going into the Ashes. That’s not the case, we’ve picked our squad for the first two Ashes Tests as well, so he’s clearly in our plans and ready to go,” Andrew McDonald said.
In his last 15 Tests innings, he has crossed the 50-run score just once which was the double century against South Africa. In his absence from Warner in BGT 2023, Travis Head opened the innings for Australia with Usman Khawaja and impressed one and all. However, Warner is backed to reclaim his spot at the top of the order for the WTC final, which will be played from June 7-11 at the Oval in London.
David Warner Knows Exactly Where He Sits With Us – Andrew McDonald
Andrew McDonald feels that David Warner knows what is expected of him and believes that the Australian opener would try to give everything to the team’s success in England even though he hasn’t had success in the English conditions.
“He knows exactly where he sits with us. It’s not as though he hasn’t had success in those conditions, so we’re backing him to draw on everything he’s got,” Andrew McDonald added.
Warner has found English conditions particularly testing in the past and compiled only 95 runs in 10 innings during the most recent Ashes campaign there in 2019. Australia will play an Ashes series in England in the days after the WTC Final
World Test Championship Final and Men’s Ashes squad: Pat Cummins (C), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazelwood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (Vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner.