Australian star batter, David Warner will be looking to play in the Ashes, while the selection committee under George Bailey’s leadership will be announcing a wider squad for the World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023.
However, when Bailey was asked about the selection of a veteran left-handed batter, he said there is nothing like automatic selection for any player, while Warner has struggled to make an impact in Test matches for the Aussies. In his last outings, he scored 26 runs in 3 innings in India.
Geroge Bailey Backs Australian head coach’s statement on David Warner-
“I think Dave, like any player is, is at the mercy of selection. The Ashes is a huge series and we’ll be looking to pick our best team. We’re going to have to have our best team playing incredibly well to challenge England over there, the way they’re playing at the moment,” said chief selector Bailey.
The 36-year-old was in rousing form as he plundered 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.
Later, he was ruled out of BGT 2023 as he got injured in the second Test match at Delhi. However, Warner was included in Cricket Australia’s list of 24 nationally contracted players last week.
“I support Andrew’s comments on that around David. I think there’s a number of differences (between the teams). But we’re a couple of weeks away from announcing that squad,” he further added.
In his absence, Travis Head opened the innings for Australia with Usman Khawaja and impressed one and all. However, Warner is backed to reclaim a spot at the top of the order for the WTC final, which will be played from June 7-11 at the Oval in London.
While, Warner played the ODI series in India after recovering from injury and Australia’s head coach, Andrew Mcdonald backed the Southpaw batter for selection in World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023.
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 months after the WTC Final in what looms as a pivotal period for what has so far proven to be the top team of the current WTC cycle.
Currently, the Ex-Australian skipper is leading Delhi Capitals (DC) side in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, after franchise regular skipper Rishabh Pant was not available for the season due to injuries.
Also read: Pat Cummins Says Australia To Adopt Wait And Watch Strategy On David Warner’s Playing In WTC Final