"Been there three times and hasn’t made a 100" - Darren Lehmann opines on David Warner's selection for Ashes series in England
Former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann has raised questions over David Warner's selection for this year's Ashes series in England. The South Australian observed that the left-hander hasn't made a Test hundred in English conditions in three attempts and that the hosts' new-ball bowlers will provide a significant challenge.
Warner averages a mediocre 26.04 in England and has managed only 651 runs in 13 innings, with seven fifties. The 2019 Ashes leg on English soil saw Stuart Broad dismiss the veteran seven times by coming around the wicket. Warner exited the series averaging 9.5 in ten innings with 95 runs.
David Warner struggles to open his account yet again! Paceman Stuart Broad has dismissed him for another duck in Manchester.
The Australian's numbers in the #Ashes so far: 2, 8, 3, 5, 65, 0, 0, 0. https://t.co/JgYNOkZCmv
Speaking on SENQ’s Pat & Heals, Lehmann reckons Warner can bat down the order if he gets the nod for the Ashes and Australia can promote Travis Head to the top.
"David Warner, if he’s in form, he’s got something to add. The issue for me would be he’s been there three times and hasn’t made a 100. I thought in the last Ashes series he should bat down .the order and bat five or six, something different, because he can really expose their bowling down the order. We just keep him as an opener but David Warner, if he’s not succeeding at the top, could bat down, you could swap Warner and Head. Sometimes you’ve got to think outside the box to see who’s going to succeed."
Head made a promising case to open the innings in Test cricket in the near future after coming good in India. He struck a blazing 43 in the second innings in Delhi, followed by another brisk 49* in Indore to guide Australia to a nine-wicket win in Indore.
"My gut feel is they’ll take him in the squad" - Darren Lehmann
While the 53-year-old warned Warner about Anderson and Broad's supremacy in England, he feels the veteran will still sneak into the Ashes squad. Lehmann explained:
"Broad and Anderson are going to be quite difficult and Warner’s struggled with that in England, so whether they get him there or not will be a selectors' call. My gut feel is they’ll take him in the squad (for the Ashes), but will they play him? I’m not so sure. But if you take him in the squad you might as well play him, or don’t take him at all."
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Warner returned home from the ongoing Test tour of India after a concussion and a hairline fracture to his elbow. The destructive batter is likely to return for the ODI series, starting on March 17th.