"We haven't discussed that" - Andrew McDonald on Travis Head replacing David Warner as opener for second Test against India
Australia coach Andrew McDonald hasn't ruled out David Warner for the second Test against India in Delhi despite a disappointing performance in the first. McDonald said that they haven't discussed Travis Head as an opener just yet.
Warner had a nightmare outing in the first Test in Nagpur, making 1 and 10 in both innings, getting outfoxed by Mohammed Shami and Ravichandran Ashwin. The left-hander was already under the scanner before the tour, managing only one notable score in the home summer. That was a double-hundred against South Africa at the MCG, but he averages only 22.17 in his last nine Test innings.
India has taken a 1 - 0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with an innings victory.
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Speaking ahead of the second Test in Delhi on Friday (February 17), McDonald acknowledged that it's too early to snub the left-hander as opener in favour of Head. As quoted by Perth Now, McDonald said:
"It's a sample size of one game, in Nagpur. We haven't discussed that (Head as opener) at all. The benefit out of losing the game so quickly is we've got a little bit more think time to work through what scenarios are for us and and that starts on Sunday.
We valued others skill sets in those extreme conditions. The hindsight is that those people that you will compare the competition for place around (Renshaw and Warner) didn't perform the way that we'd probably expected. Head had different thoughts on that, and that's fair enough."
Renshaw also had a Test to forget. He was out for a golden duck in the first innings and managed only two in the second. Hence, he appears to be one of the most obvious changes for the Delhi Test.
"You’ve got to give him at least the next Test match" - Mark Taylor on David Warner
Former Australian captain Mark Taylor wants Warner to play the next Test but wants both openers to rectify their technique after failing in Nagpur. Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Taylor said:
"David’s been around long enough, and I know he’s had plenty of opportunities, but I think you’ve got to give him at least the next Test match to get it right."
He continued:
"As Warner and Usman Khawaja found out, they bat at the top of the order and faced Ravi Ashwin with the new ball, and then four overs later, got Ravi Jadeja. So it doesn’t really matter where you bat, you’re going to face the same stuff. So I would be sticking with the top two at the moment."
Ashwin was blistering in Australia's second innings 🌪
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Australia cannot afford to lose the next Test if they wish to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.