David Warner is refining his batsmanship into a package that is both explosive and controlled; a package that has lifted his numbers right up there among Australia’s best in home Tests
Daniel Brettig at the WACA13-Nov-2015How well does David Warner bat in Australia? Try more prolifically than anyone but Sir Donald Bradman and faster than anyone but Adam Gilchrist.When Warner leapt towards the heavens for the second time in the day at the Prindiville Stand End of the WACA Ground in recognition of his hundred, it was the achievement of a goal he had long talked about. But it was also the apogee (so far) of a batting method that sits extraordinarily well among those of all batsmen ever to have marked their guard in a Test in this country.Warner’s average of 64.05 places him second only to Bradman among batsmen to have played more than 20 Tests down under, while a strike rate upwards of 79 is second only to Gilchrist’s 81. Furthermore, no one has ever made as many on day on of an Antipodean Test as Warner’s 244 not out. That puts him well and truly in range of Brian Lara’s world record 400.All this on a ground where Matthew Hayden had previously pushed on to briefly hold the mark himself, with 380 against Zimbabwe in 2003. Warner’s batting had a similar air of inevitability about it, for New Zealand were quite simply powerless to stop him.
Batsman Mats Runs Ave 100sDon Bradman 33 4322 98.23 18David Warner 23 2370 64.05 11Michael Clarke 53 4654 62.05 17Michael Hussey 45 3794 61.19 14Matthew Hayden 56 5210 57.89 21Doug Walters 37 3065 57.83 10Ricky Ponting 92 7578 56.98 23Bill Lawry 30 2818 56.36 8Greg Chappell 55 4515 54.40 16Michael Slater 33 2842 52.63 9New Zealand’s bowling coach Dimitri Mascarenhas looked on as Warner dismembered his charges. “He’s in a rich vein of form at the moment,” he said. “Look, we’ve tried a few plans and they’re definitely not working at the moment. It is tough. He goes through spells where he’ll hit 20 ones in a row and then he’ll hit 20 off an over, so he’s pretty phenomenal at the moment.”In this series and sundry others, Warner’s presence at the top of the order has drastically altered the dynamics of the new-ball contest. Bowlers like Tim Southee and Trent Boult, who commonly walk back to their mark with predatory thoughts of procuring outside edges or splayed stumps, have been left wondering “how do I slow the scoring”, rather than “how do I get him out”.To that end, Warner’s destructive powers recall the most intimidatory extremes of Hayden and Justin Langer during the early 2000s. Bowlers and captains alike were often left to resort to defensive measures against Hayden and Langer when the shine was still on the ball – Brendon McCullum was forced into precisely that posture after the first six overs of the morning went for 33. Three slips quickly became one, then none for most of the day.If McCullum’s field settings had at least something to do with the WACA, which offered up a dry, flat surface that failed to offer the bounce and pace predicted by the curator Matthew Page, they were related rather more closely to Warner’s pressing. In Brisbane, McCullum had been criticised for not resorting to run-saving measures and simply allowing the Australians to flourish; here he tried to control things, and finished up conceding even more runs.They did so because day by day, innings by innings, Warner is refining his concentration and technique into a package that is at once explosive and controlled. Usman Khawaja, Warner’s partner for a pair of major stands over the past two Tests, summed up how he had grown.”I’ve spent an enormous amount of time batting with Davey since I was a kid,” he said, “and he hasn’t changed much except maybe a little bit more mature. He has learned about his game a lot. At times you think ‘oh he probably wouldn’t do that three years ago’. Credit to him, he has learned his game, he knows he has got the explosiveness up there with the best cricketers in the world, but he doesn’t always have to use it. I think he has learned that now.”I think Davey did brilliantly in that he didn’t actually lose his head, he just kept hanging in there, and when he got a bowler that he liked he took them down at the same time. He did show glimpses of Davey Warner when he hit bowlers back of their heads. It was a bit to do with the field too, the ball softened up and McCullum put defensive fields in and bowled with those fields, which makes it tough to score.”He picks and chooses when he needs to use it, and it’s credit to him, you can’t score 15 Test hundreds in 40-odd games without being a class cricketer, without having some good periods of bowling and getting through them. He has developed a lot from when he first started playing Test match cricket, and you can see it today.”
David Warner’s destructive powers recall the most intimidatory extremes of Hayden and Langer during the early 2000s
At the very least, New Zealand did manage to tie down Warner’s partner Joe Burns, who started swiftly and then became bogged down by tighter lines. He was eventually bowled off an inside edge by Matt Henry when trying to manufacture a glide down to third man, though not before accompanying Warner to a third consecutive stand of more than 100.For now, Burns is doing his job even if he can see off the first over of the innings, a risk Warner has pointedly not taken since copping a couple instances of “got a good one early” against West Indies in the Caribbean before the Ashes. That extra ball or two to get adjusted to the light in the middle and observe the vagaries of the pitch seems to have a useful effect on Warner’s awareness of what is coming down, and if the bowler of the second over does not place the ball on a postage stamp he is quickly watching the ball skate away to the boundary rope.The extent to which Warner was able to mess with New Zealand’s plans was epitomised by not one but two requests for the ball to be changed. The first was swapped over at the 10-over mark, a juncture not atypical. But the second was dispensed with by McCullum’s men after a mere three balls of use in the evening. As he spoke with the umpires, McCullum must have been tempted to ask that the Kookaburra be replaced with a Dukes.That of course is the next riddle for Warner to solve. Overseas success has remained relatively elusive for him, mirroring the failings of the Australian teams led by Michael Clarke and now Steven Smith. The ease with which Warner has peeled off centuries in three consecutive innings against New Zealand stands in sharp contrast to the issues of concentration and technique he faced in England earlier this year.Time after time, Warner got himself set during the Ashes, and repeatedly found a way to get out just as England’s bowlers were starting to question their chances. Such circumstances then gave the hosts a sense of anticipation for Warner’s wicket even when he did look to be in command, and doubtless increased the batsman’s own mental anguish about not making the big scores he had hoped for.A part of Warner’s prolific returns against New Zealand is drawn from the wish to learn from the lessons of England this year, among other overseas misadventures, but with the advantage of playing in conditions and circumstances where he is already well versed. The combination of resolve and experience is making Warner just about impossible to bowl to right now, but it will be tested further on his next trip overseas.Even the short hop to New Zealand in February will provide a decent marker of whether Warner can take his Australian supremacy on the road. Australia will hope fervently that he can.
