As he promised, Warner hushed any scepticism going into his 100th Test match at the MCG. He scored his maiden century in a Test in over three years and played one of his best innings ever to win the Johnny Mullagh award for Player of the Match.
Warner said that he had some reservations despite having publicly stated that he was just out of runs and out of luck, not out of form, since he had not reached 50 in any of his previous ten Test innings heading into the game.
“Were there qualms? Yes, there were questions in my mind, Warner said following Australia’s innings triumph on the fourth day. But for me, it was simply about going outside and proving to myself that I still have that drive and commitment because I always bring it to my exercises. People keep telling me that you will know when the timing is right, but I haven’t really experienced it yet. It still makes me happy.
Warner on India challenge
Given that he has more experience in India than any other player in the Australian side thanks to his three Test visits and playing for more than ten years in the IPL, Warner has already begun to prepare for the four Test matches there.
They will be turning wickets, so we will prepare for it, Warner added. The weather in Nagpur, Delhi, and Dharamsala at that time of year is very dry, and when we played there [in 2017], we arguably ought to have won that Test. We went astray on our own.
There will be moments when life over there will be difficult. But the question is if our batters can develop and bat powerfully as we did in Pakistan. That will likely present us with the biggest problem. With the ball, I believe we will do excellently. Nathan Lyon is a top-tier spinner that we have. Of course, we’ll have to consider the possibility of playing two spinners.
“As a result, it will be challenging for us like a batting group, but we must overcome this as we did in Pakistan. Of course, in Sri Lanka, we had successful strategies, as evidenced by the fact that everyone used reverse sweeps and sweeps in the opening Test in Galle. Everybody has a strategy they consistently used. Moving to India will likely be a batter’s struggle, in my opinion.”
Sydney pitch questions
Ashton Agar and Matt Renshaw were drafted into the team to replace the injured Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc, and Australia is now considering using two spinners in the decisive Test against South Africa in Sydney. Given that the SCG surface has been exceptionally dry and spin-friendly thus far this summer, Warner is unsure of what to anticipate.