"He was back in his T20 colours for a few deliveries" - Kevin Pietersen on David Warner's knock on Day 1 of 2nd Ashes 2023 Test
Australian opener David Warner roared back to form with an impressive half-century on the first day (Wednesday) of the second Ashes 2023 Test against England at Lord's.
Warner mustered 66 runs before being undone by Josh Togue's peach of a delivery. Following the knock, Kevin Pietersen pointed out how the southpaw adopted a counter-attacking approach for a brief period.
The former England captain opined that Warner would be pleased to get some runs under his belt after failing to score substantially in the opening fixture. Speaking to Sky Sports, Pietersen remarked:
"He (David Warner) looked solid. He got bored on occasion, so he got a sweep away to (Stuart) Broad or (Ollie) Robinson. He was back in his T20 colours for a few deliveries. I think he will be happy with the fact that he got some runs because he would have been very unhappy to have missed out on that wicket that was dished up last week in Birmingham."
The cricketer-turned-commentator suggested that Warner looked in good touch in the first Test as well. Pietersen highlighted that the batter showed good technique against Stuart Broad, a bowler who has troubled him for several years now. He added:
"He looked brilliant in Birmingham. He set up nicely, his technique was solid, he went on a crunching drive, which led to his demise in that first innings in Birmingham. But again, he started really well today."
"His technique looks like it's quite solid, against Broad in particular. He has done a lot of hard work on his technique and has found a game plan that he actually thinks that this is the way that he is going to line up."
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Day 1 ends with Australia in control, but Joe Root's late double-strike gives England hope.
The game is finely poised. 🔥🏏
#ENGvAUS #Ashes #TheAshes https://t.co/eC43WiknA9
Warner provided Australia with a wonderful start at Lord's. The likes of Travis Head (77) and Steve Smith (85*) also delivered fine knocks later in the day as the visitors finished 339/5 at stumps.
"They were under pressure" - Kevin Pietersen on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne
During the discussion, Kevin Pietersen also stated that star Australian batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were under pressure following their underwhelming performances in the first Test.
While he lauded Smith for his batting exploits at Lord's, he opined that Labuschagne would be gutted after getting out on 47. Pietersen elaborated:
"They (Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith) were under pressure, no doubt about it. Best batters in the world, you got to score runs. If you fail, you have to score runs, and they set the tide beautifully for what the score is today."
"Labuschagne only got 47. I say only 47 because I think he would have liked to have been at the crease till now with how much he absolutely loves batting."
Steve Smith - A Modern Day 🐐 😍 https://t.co/vr1vEgR7Yu
It is worth mentioning that during his 85*-run knock, Smith became the second-fastest batter to cross the 9,000-run mark in Test cricket. He also completed 15,000 international runs.