Brett Lee's warning about David Warner amid fresh flop from Test hopeful Cameron Bancroft

Former Australian quick Brett Lee believes Aussie fans may finally realise this summer how lucky they have been for the last decade to have David Warner as Test opener now he's gone. In his time as opener Warner averaged 44.59 from 112 Tests, including 26 hundreds and he regularly made those runs at a blistering rate, taking pressure off the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne who followed him to the crease.

But with Warner gone and Smith's opening experiment failing, Aussie selectors are digging into Sheffield Shield cricket form to find Usman Khawaja's opening partner for the upcoming blockbuster Test series against India. Cameron Green was one of the leading contenders to take the opening spot but he will miss the entire five-Test series through injury, opening the door for the likes of Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Matt Renshaw and Sam Konstas.

Away from the NSW youngster Konstas, the other three batsmen have all been given a chance to impress on the international stage but when given the opportunity have struggled to make runs. And on Monday, Konstas was out cheaply at the MCG and Renshaw failed to impress for Queensland, further adding uncertainty to who joins Khawaja at the top of the order.

And Lee believes slowly but surely Aussies will realise just how good they had it with Warner. Selectors were heavily criticised for not ending Warner’s career earlier than his farewell series last summer against Pakistan. But the failed Smith opening experiment and now the severe lack of credible opening options, have shed a different light on Warner's swansong.

Warner will still have a role to play in the Australian summer but this time behind the microphone with Fox Cricket on Monday announcing the former opener as the key addition to its Test coverage. But Lee says out on the field Australia will miss him more than they realise.

“Firstly, Australia – not just the team but I think the public may not appreciate it now, but I think in 12-18 months, just how good David Warner was,” Lee said on Fox Cricket. “For us at Fox and Kayo to get him and his leadership qualities and the way he understands the game and what he can bring for the audience will be massive.”

Australian Test hopefuls fail to put up a substantial score

Meanwhile, with Konstas and Renshaw dismissed cheaply, Bancroft was presented a golden opportunity to stamp his claim but he too fell without much resistance in Western Australia's Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. After recording a pair of ducks in the first round against Queensland, the opener was caught behind for eight soon after lunch on Monday as his Shield season gets off to the worst possible start.

While Harris was also far from impressive, putting together scores of 16 and 26 for Victoria against NSW. And with all the Test hopefuls failing, Lee hopes 19-year-old Konstas is given a shot. “I think if they were to go back to Cameron Bancroft, it would have been a year and a half or two years ago when he had most runs in Shield cricket,” Lee said.

RELATED:

• Mitch Marsh answers Pat Cummins' call amid Aussie selection hint

• ODI 'dying a slow death' as Cricket Australia move exposes new reality

• Injured Cameron Green's telling admission about Aussie Test role

“They still may pick him and they may pick Harris. But do you invest your energy and assets into guys who are ageing cricketers, with all due respect – albeit wonderful cricketers, don’t get me wrong. But if we’re looking to the future, why not give a guy an opportunity to Sam Konstas who is only 19 years of age, and only played a few first-class matches?

“There are some players, like David Warner, the way he came through the ranks – he started in T20 cricket and then turned out to be one of Australia’s greatest ever Test match cricketers. Glenn McGrath played only a few first-class matches before he debuted for Australia. There are players that the higher the level they go, the better the cricketers they are. I see Sam Konstas’ technique, I think he has a really good technique. I don’t think it would be a bad call if they went down that road.”