Veteran Australia opener David Warner has come under the scanner for his poor showing in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Warner’s Test form has been a cause of concern since 2022. In fact, his selection for the Ashes 2023 was also widely debated and the southpaw has failed to live up to the expectations so far, registering scores of 9, 36, 66, 25, 4 and 1 from six innings.
The southpaw was dismissed by Stuart Broad in both innings of the third Test. Broad has been Warner’s nemesis over the years and he got him out for the 17th time at Headingley.
Amid the outrage over his form, former skipper Ricky Ponting has batted for Warner’s inclusion in the upcoming Manchester Test, saying that the left-hander has proven himself enough in the past to deserve another opportunity.
"I know there's been a lot of chat the last couple of days since the end of Headingley and it's more the fact that it's Broad that's getting him out, I think. I think if it was anybody else, the noise probably wouldn't be quite as loud, but the fact that he struggled to get through the opening spells of Broad a few times in this series again, makes it a little bit more of a worry," Ponting said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
"And the reason I say that is because I've played against teams in the past and bowlers in the past where you just know that they've got the wood on you and they're on top of you and you just can't get away from it because if I'm Ben Stokes, even if David Warner gets through the first spell of Stuart Broad, then I'll give him a short break and I'll bring him back again.
"When someone's got you out 17 times, it does become as much a mental or probably more of a mental battle than it does a technical battle. But just thinking about the series, I'd be inclined to stick with David Warner," he added.
While Ponting is concerned by Warner's form to some extent, he wants the latter to fight it out in the middle like he did in the WTC 2023 final and the Lord's Test.
"I always talk about when you see guys smiling on the field, smiling for me, it's almost a nervous reaction. You're never happy to play and miss at one or you're never happy to nick one to slip, but for some reason when guys are under pressure, it's nerves that make you smile," said Ponting.
"I'd like to see him go the other way. I'd like to see him show that real bulldog fighting spirit that he's got. I think like he showed in the first innings of the World Test Championship, like he showed in the first innings at Lord's where he made runs there. I'd like to see him get back to that and if he gets back to that, I think with the way that I've seen him start in a couple of his innings, I honestly do feel a big score is just around the corner for him," he remarked.
(With IANS Inputs)
