"He’s not too dissimilar to me" - David Warner puts forward fellow southpaw's name as the heir to his Test spot
Veteran Australian opener David Warner believes that Victoria's Marcus Harris could be the ideal candidate to become a mainstay for the Australian Test team at the top of the order after he retires.
Warner is set to hang up his boots in Tests after the final game of the ongoing series against Pakistan in Sydney. There has been a lot of discussion about who could be the heir to his spot, and several names like Cameron Bancroft and even Cameron Green have been talked about.
However, speaking to Fox Cricket on Tuesday, David Warner explained why he feels Marcus Harris has a similar game plan to himself. He said:
“It is a tough one (and) it is obviously up to the selectors. But from my position, I feel like the person who has worked their backside off and has been there for a while in the background (is Harris).
"Harry’s been that person who has toured (and) he scored that 100 the other day and missed out in another couple of games but he’s always been the person who’s next in line. So if the selectors show their faith in him, then I’m sure he’ll come out and play the way he does. You know, he’s not too dissimilar to me.”
David Warner on the importance of backing aggressive players in Tests
David Warner himself played his first game for Australia way back in 2009 when he had not even played a single first-class game. He feels youngsters should be backed just like he was in his early days and opined that they should get a long rope to help them overcome the fear of failure.
On this, he stated:
“I have always played the way that I have to entertain and to put bums on seats. I think that is important, giving back and making sure the fans are getting what they paid for. How are we going to find these guys coming through? You’re going to find them in the Big Bash.
"It’s going to be a gutsy call to put someone out there in the middle, a bit like what they did with me, and experiment. I just hope that when they do, that person gets their chance, that they are given a good crack and it doesn’t chop and change.”
Australia finished Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan at 187/3, with David Warner getting dismissed on 38.