David Warner spotted in telling clue amid speculation over Ashes axing

David Warner appears likely to keep his place in Australia's XI for the fourth Ashes Test against England after he was spotted training at his customary position of first slip at Old Trafford on Monday. Speculation is rife that Warner could be dropped for the crunch showdown in Manchester, with many calling for the veteran to be replaced at the top of the batting order.

Mitch Marsh shapes as a potential candidate to open the batting, while Travis Head faced the new ball during Australia's tour of India earlier this year. The Aussies also have a reserve opener in Marcus Harris in their squad, however it appears as though Warner has earned a reprieve.

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The 36-year-old was seen taking catching practice at first slip on Monday, with Marsh at gully. Tellingly, Cameron Green was spotted running with the squad's reserves.

Marsh scored a brilliant century in the third Test after coming in for the injured Green. With both all-rounders now available for the fourth Test, there has been speculation that both could play at Old Trafford.

But judging by Monday's training session, it appears as though Green will struggle to force his way back into the XI. It suggests Australia will make only the one change for the fourth Test, with Josh Hazlewood likely to come in for Scott Boland.

Usman Khawaja had earlier suggested Warner would be his opening partner when the fourth Test begins on Wednesday evening (Australia time). "Yep," he said when asked if he expected to walk out alongside Warner.

"From my point of view Dave Warner has been one of the greatest openers of all time. It is him and Haydos (Matt Hayden) right up there for Australia. The top two ever. So I will always back Davey no matter what, and the other guys will too."

Khawaja pointed to the tough work he and Warner had done together so far in this year's Ashes, including three successive half-century partnerships in tricky conditions. "It's massive, and a thankless job," Khawaja said.

"We go out there and got a really good start at Lord's in heavy overhead conditions. I got out just last over before lunch but that sets up the game for us. Steve Smith comes out and batted in the sunshine and gets the beautiful 100.

"As an opener, sometimes you don't always record your good days on how many runs you made. Sometimes it's just about just grinding through those tough times.

"We've had three 50-run partnerships against Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad. That is as tough as it gets in England. You have to pay some respect to that."

Josh Hazlewood expects to be fit for final two Tests

Hazlewood played in Australia's wins in the first two Tests without issue, before being put on the ice for the loss at Headingley. But the right-arm quick is confident his body can get through back-to-back matches to finish the series after a number of injuries in recent years.

"Missing Headingley, the reason was probably to set me up for the last two games," Hazlewood said on Monday. "I know they're back-to-back but we haven't bowled a lot of overs. Hopefully with that work behind me now, I'm in a better position than I was a month ago. That sort of puts me in a good place to hopefully get through those last two games and and play my role and do what I usually do.

"I have felt pretty good. I was probably a little bit underdone for that World Test Championship (final) and then got ready for the first game. I didn't seem too rusty when I was out there in the middle. Once you get that big day of workload underneath you, you feel a lot better for the run.

"I felt better and better as I was going along. Hopefully after that little break, I'll coming out firing again."

with AAP

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