Australia hope Warner returns to aggressive best

The opener averages just 22.16 in India but his side need him to come good in Delhi

David Warner spent no more than 54 minutes at the crease in the second innings of the first Test in Nagpur. The harsh reality is he was lucky to survive for even that long. In his 41-ball 10, he could have been out at least twice before his eventual dismissal to R Ashwin. He was dropped once by Virat Kohli at first slip off Ashwin’s bowling apart from surviving quite a few close leg-before shouts against the India off-spinner. In the first innings at Jamtha Stadium, he was bowled by Mohammed Shami in the third over of the first morning. His display in Nagpur seemed to encapsulate his Test career in India — 399 runs in 18 innings at an average of 22.16 with just three half-centuries.

Australia's captain Pat Cummins (L) and his teammate David Warner take part in a practice session at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.(AFP)

Such numbers don’t pass muster for anyone anywhere. For a player who is on his third Test tour to India, it is grossly underwhelming. Why has Warner not been able to crack Indian conditions despite so much exposure to this part of the world? Remember that he has also visited India on white-ball tours and played a consistent part in IPL, albeit in conditions vastly different from what you encounter in the longer format.

Though Warner has been troubled away from home in general — as an average of 32.15 in Tests outside Australia illustrates — it is exacerbated in India due to the stranglehold that Ashwin has had on the left-handed opener. The off-spinner has dismissed him six times in 13 innings where they have been pitted against each other.

If Warner is being persisted with despite his struggles, it is because of the hope that the Australians have of the 36-year-old coming to the party. And it is imperative that Warner clicks in this Aussie line-up simply because of the rate at which runs can flow when he gets going. While Steve Smith is their best batter in these conditions and Marnus Labuschagne showed signs of adapting in the opener, it is Warner who can change a game in a session.

It is this very ability to take the game to the Indian bowlers that made Australia skipper Pat Cummins back the southpaw on the eve of the match.

“I am sure Davey will be there. As you saw in the Boxing Day Test last year (he scored 200 against South Africa), when he puts pressure back on the opposition, he’s pretty hard to bowl to. You don’t get as many good balls. He knows that. I am sure that will be part of his planning. He’s been batting really well in the lead-up. Facing spin with the new ball is the hardest time to bat,” Cummins said on Thursday.

Incredibly though, Warner has survived 100 balls or more in an innings in India only once — at Mohali in 2013 when he made 71 off 147 deliveries. It’s his tentative footwork that has landed him in trouble so often; 12 of his 18 dismissals have been bowled or leg-before wicket. That’s how things played out in Nagpur as well.

It’s clear then that whatever method Warner has employed so far hasn’t worked.

“We’re big on each player having their individual method. For some people, it is sweeping. Smith is probably our best-ever batter in these conditions. He is not a big sweeper. It is each to their own. They just need to have full confidence that whatever method they find, they need to be brave enough to take it on. That’s what we worked on during our camp in Bengaluru. There was a lot of tinkering and people working out what’s going to work best for them,” Cummins said.

The best way, perhaps, for Warner to get out of this rut is to go back to what he knows best and exhibit overt aggression against the Indian spinners. His strike rate of 53.77 in India is markedly lower than his career strike rate of 71.18. Even if an attacking approach doesn’t come off, he will have the Australian captain’s backing for one.

“You are going to fail over here. It’s about failing the right way. These conditions are tough. If our best chance is to take the game on and for someone to take a calculative risk, it’s fine if it doesn’t come off. No stress,” Cummins said.

Easier said than done for Warner given his poor run of scores here, but he wouldn’t have been expecting anything to be easy when he made the trip to India.