Steve Smith's massive call amid dramas surrounding David Warner
The Australia vice-captain has addressed the noise around his teammate ahead of the Boxing Day cricket Test against South Africa.
Steve Smith has gone in to bat for David Warner and insists that his teammate will bounce back to form for Australia during the Test series against South Africa. The Aussies head into the Boxing Day Test 1-0 up in the three-match series after a crushing six-wicket win in Brisbane, on a Gabba deck that has come under fire across the cricket world.
While Travis Head was the only Aussie batter to register a half century on a green Gabba wicket that has since been rated 'below average' by the ICC, Warner's continued struggles have seen calls grow louder for him to be dropped from Australia's starting XI. Warner hasn't scored a Test century since January 2020 and could only manage a golden duck and three in the first Test against the Proteas.
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His batting average is just 21 over the last 12 months and the opener appears to be low on confidence at Test level. Australia's coach Andrew McDonald said before the three-Test series against South Africa got underway that Warner was very much in the frame for February's tour of India and that his recent lack of runs was not a concern. The coach did, however, suggest that runs against the Proteas were important for Warner and after his failures in Brisbane, pressure on the 36-year-old will ramp up even further at the MCG.
Despite the opener's worrying form and calls for his axing from the cricket public, Smith has thrown his backing behind the veteran batter. The Aussie vice-captain pointed to Warner's 106 from 102 balls against England in an ODI at the MCG last month, as evidence of his recent success at the iconic ground.
"You only have to look back a [few] weeks ago, a one-day game out here against England, he scored 100 on what was a pretty tough wicket," Smith told reporters. "We've seen David when his back's up against the wall, he's done pretty well."
Smith says Warner thrives in adversity but like any cricketer, could do with a little luck that has seemingly deserted him in recent weeks. Warner only managed scores of 5, 48, 21 and 28 in the two recent Tests against the West Indies, but Smith insists that if he keeps playing his natural game against the Proteas, the runs are bound to follow.
"It doesn't matter what format of the game, Davey always plays in a pretty similar way, which has been the beauty of him in Test cricket, being able to take the game on from ball one,"Smith added. "Sometimes it doesn't work, and he hasn't had a great deal of luck lately."
David Warner going through lean spell with the bat
Aussie selector George Bailey admitted after the Gabba Test that it was hard to read into the form of any batter after 34 wickets fell in less than two days of play in Brisbane. It marked the shortest Test match on Australian soil in 91 years.
"David would be the first to say this, he'd like a few more runs and to be contributing a bit more, knowing the importance of that role at the top of the order," Bailey said. "But (I have) full confidence that will come."
Speaking during the Gabba Test, Aussie legend Ricky Ponting said Warner needed to dictate how his career in Test cricket finishes. After three Tests against South Africa, the Aussies will head to India for a four-match series in February before the Ashes in England in June.
"He is going through a lean trot now - we all want to see him scoring runs. When he finishes, he deserves to go out on his terms. He has been a magnificent stalwart for Australian cricket," Ponting said.
"He got the starts against the West Indies and didn't go on when everyone else at the top made the most of a weak West Indian side. He deserves the chance to finish the way he wants to finish. I would hate to see him get to an Indian tour or at the start of the Ashes tour and then get the tap on the shoulder. That would be a disappointing way for his career to end."
Aussie cricket fans could be forgiven for questioning Warner's place in the Test side, with his average languishing at only 21. He holds a similar average (24.25) across two tours of India in 2013 and 2017, while he struggled through the 2019 Ashes in England - falling victim to the pace bowling of Stuart Broad in seven out of his 10 innings.
with agencies
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