David Warner and Mark Waugh. (Photo Source: Twitter)
David Warner’s dip in form in red-ball cricket is a huge matter of concern for the team management. Other than his cracking double century against South Africa towards the fag end of 2022, the southpaw hasn’t done much to justify his spot in the playing XI. In the ongoing Ashes 2023, he has faced the wrath of Stuart Broad multiple times and managed to score only 201 runs in four matches so far. Hence, his spot in the playing XI is not yet guaranteed for the fifth Test in Kennington as Marcus Harris remains available for selection.
Meanwhile, analysing Warner’s game, former cricketer Mark Waugh stated that the cricketer looked too scared to get out. He believes that the 36-year-old is batting decently but is not being able to convert his starts into a big total. He also believes that the cricketer is lacking aggression, which was Warner’s USP at one point.
“Unfortunately when you get older and closer to the end of your game as a professional there is a lot more focus on your scores and the way you’re going. Unfortunately with Davey, he’s batting OK but he’s just not nailing the big score. The thing that is concerning me is his lack of aggression,” Waugh said while talking to Fox Cricket.
Warner is not quite getting the balance right: Waugh
“He was tentative in both innings and the shot in the second innings at 28 where he just pushed the ball, he really should be a lot more aggressive and fight fire with fire. At the moment he looks like he’s too scared to get out. You can see he’s caught in between surviving and playing the big shot. There’s not a lot in between that. He’s not quite getting the balance right,” the 58-year-old added.
Meanwhile, Warner has already announced retiring from Test cricket after the Australian summer. After the Ashes, Australia will host Pakistan, West Indies and New Zealand towards the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024 and following which, the cricketer will call his time.