Australia will take on India in the second ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, scheduled to be held at The Oval in London from June 7 to 11.
Australia qualified for the final with their win in the Indore Test of the recently held Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The showdown was then between India and Sri Lanka, with the latter needing a 2-0 series win in an away series versus New Zealand. Instead, the Kiwis won the series 2-0 to make India’s road clear for the WTC final.
From Australia’s perspective, it will be interesting to see whether veteran opener David Warner features in the WTC final or not.
Warner's Test future has come under the scanner after he returned home following the second Test against India in Delhi with a fractured elbow. His Test form has been a cause of concern since 2022. In 14 matches, the left-hander has scored just 607 runs at an average of 26.39 while he registered scores of 1, 10 and 15 in the three innings that he batted on the tour of India.
Meanwhile, Australia skipper Pat Cummins has said that “we’ll have to wait and see” if David Warner will play in the WTC final.
The southpaw averages 26.04 in English conditions but Cummins backed him while speaking to Fox Sports and said, “But openers who can put pressure back on the bowlers, they’re priceless.”
“I know as a bowler, if someone’s a sitting duck, you feel like you’re going to get them eventually. If someone’s kind of taking the game to you, it presents a different challenge. That’s been the hallmark of Davey’s career,” he added.
The Australia captain also acknowledged that opening in England is difficult. “The bowlers can get on top over in England with the new ball. It seems around; it can be tough for opening batters.”
After Warner returned home injured midway from the India tour, Travis Head opened the batting for Australia in the last two Tests and registered scores of 9, 49*, 32 and 90.
Despite being in stunning form, Head was dropped for the opening Test in Nagpur and Cummins revealed the reason behind the decision, saying: “It really was a horses-for-courses (selection) over there in India. Those wickets are so foreign to what we’d get in Australia or England or somewhere else.”
“He’s been probably the best No. 5 batter in the world over the last couple of years, which is a tough spot in itself,” he remarked.
