David Warner may be a polarizing man but the aggressive opener is rarely boring and his heroics for Australia in Twenty20 World The cup indicated that he was back at his explosive best.
Now 35, the larger-than-life Warner, who averages just shy of 50 in his 86 Tests, has been able to change a game with his sharp presence.
Even England bowler and fellow veteran Jimmy Anderson, who will see eye-to-eye with his old foe in the Ashes starting December 8 in Brisbane, is highly respected.
“We’ve played so much cricket against David Warner, we know you can never say you’re really on top of him – he’s good for a batsman, he has so much quality,” Anderson told Fox Sports.
“His record in Australia is ridiculous, so we know it’s going to be a different animal than we faced in our summer in 2019.”
A left-arm attacker, Warner will feel he has an unfinished job after a miserable Ashes on England soil in 2019, where he scored just 95 runs at an average of just 9.5.
Stuart Broad was his enemy, he dismissed him seven times.
But as Anderson said, his form in Australia is poor.
Warner has scored 4,551 runs out of his 7,311 Test runs at home, scoring 18 centuries in his 45 Test matches at an average of 63.20, with a top score of 335.
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell warned that he should never be underestimated.
“Many people wrote to him ahead of the T20 World Cup, only to prove to him how important he is at the top of the order,” he said, adding that Warner resumed form to lead Australia to the title last month. searched for.
“I think he is even more important in the Test line-up,” Chappell said.
“A skilled, fast scoring opener can be invaluable in setting up the game. Teams with aggressive openers cause opposition captains and bowlers to toss and turn at night.
‘Poke the Bear’
Warner made a modest start in Brisbane 10 years ago, but then ran his bat with a career-defining century in his second game in Hobart to signal his arrival.
He established himself as one of the best all-format openers in the world before it all came crashing down and tarnished his reputation.
Warner was cast as the villain in the “sandpaper-gate” ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in 2018, who conspired to replace the ball with Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith during the third Test in Cape Town.
He became a pariah, widely seen as a central figure in the cultural crisis that engulfed Australian cricket. He was removed from the vice-captaincy and banned from taking up leadership roles in the team again.
Warner served a 12-month ban before being called up again, and quickly picked up where he left off, enjoying the One Day World Cup ahead of his poor Ashes series in 2019, with critics writing him off again.
But in typical fashion, he came back strongly later that year, scoring an unbeaten 335 against Pakistan in Adelaide.
Another lean spell this year earned him a place in their Indian Premier League squad, but once again he proved his skeptics wrong t20 world cup exploits.
Aaron Finch, captain of Australia’s victorious T20 team, said that Warner proceeds only on criticism.
“Can’t believe people wrote to him,” he said.
“That’s when he plays his best cricket. It was almost like beating a bear.”
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