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Time for David Warner to grab opportunity

Given the precarious condition Australia are in, David Warner needs to restore his side's faith on a new leader.

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David Warner needs to step into shoes of Steven Smith to bring the difference for Australia © Getty Images
David Warner needs to step into shoes of Steven Smith to bring the difference for Australia © Getty Images

Imagine a tour that had a leader who has guided them for over 38 matches across formats and one finds him missing out in action due to spur-of-moment decision. Scary, right? Criticisms kept aside, the team is bound to feel disappointed and broken. When captain Steven Smith was sent back home midway during the series against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, Australia found themselves inside a dark tunnel with no light at the end. After being whitewashed in Test series and now the ODIs levelled 1-1, Australia needed stability and a dependent captain to look up to. Out of 24 ODIs played, Smith has leaded his side to victory 15 times and lost 8. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016, 2nd ODI at Colombo

Smith’s departure meant David Warner came into the picture. A man who has curbed the brash instincts from his earlier days, Warner is now a batsman hungry to score and win. Given the precarious condition Australia are in, Warner needs to restore his side’s faith on a new leader. Australia selectors want Warner to repeat the IPL magic.

From being brash to hit:

There was a time when Warner was put aside due to his aggressive behaviour. Today he has bagged the role of captaincy despite there being a veteran like George Bailey in the side. The seemingly arrogant and ill-behaved man of 2013 is now a mature man at the age of 29.

Warner had been involved in Twitter rows with Australian journalists and an infamous scuffle with Joe Root outside a bar in 2013. But that was before Candice Falzon happened to him. In an interview he mentioned how fatherhood transformed him to a role model for his kids. He came out of the aggressive zone as a person, although he continues to be the hard-hitter and top batsman for Australia. Be it being the fourth-highest run-scorer in Ashes 2015 or being the second highest run-scorer in IPL 2016 (with 848 runs) or his maiden ODI century against South Africa in the tri-series, Warner’s transformation deserves all the praises. ALSO READ: The rise of David Warner

Warner averages 38 in ODIs in comparison to Smith’s 41, who is currently ninth on the table. His current poor form in ODIs is worrisome for Australia. In the current series he has been dismissed for 8 and 1, but his bat spoke volumes when he was scanned under the role of captaincy during IPL. Australian selectors are certainly looking to bring the IPL leader to take field in yellow attire.

Taking leaf from IPL captaincy:

David Warner was chosen as the captain for SRH in 2015. His 562 runs in 2015 at 43 shot up to an average of 60 in 2016. Be it expressing his anger at fall of wickets or venting out frustration at coach Tom Moody or expressing joy and happiness when the team achieved their maiden IPL title, Warner was animated on field. He backed his batsmen despite their poor forms (Yuvraj Singh, for example, returned to the side about midway through the tournament). Warner himself continued with his A game and managed to score fifties in almost every match.

Towards the end of the tournament Shikhar Dhawan complimented Warner for leading SRH to final. SRH played 17 matches, winning 8 including the eliminator against KKR, the second qualifier against GL, and finally paving the final against RCB to lift the trophy.

He used variations in bowling to keep the opponents on edge. Be it learning Bengali to guide Mustafizur Rahman, getting Ben Cutting to prevail over RCB in the final with both bat and ball, and encouraging left-arm orthodox spinner Bipul Sharma despite ending the league with just 3 wickets. Warner showed faith on his bowlers. He showed support. ALSO READ: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s IPL 2016 win was built around squad balance

In an interview with cricket.com.au Cutting mentioned: “Warner’s a bowler’s captain. He’ll let you set whatever field you want and let you back yourself, no matter how out there your field can be at times in a T20. He’s always in and around the ring near the bowler to bounce ideas off and will move fielders here and there a little bit. But ultimately it’s up to the bowler and he fully backs you 100 per cent, which is what you want in a captain.”

Warner stepping into Smith’s shoe in ‘different’ way:

Warner will surely need to bring some difference to their side that Smith could have changed. These differences are simple, and are the best way for Warner to prove why he can be the descendant when Smith misses out on any game.

– Smith was ridiculed for using Travis Head in second ODI in the first Powerplay. Head conceded 20 runs in his first over, and another 21 in the next 3 overs. Things reached a level when Smith himself bowled as well. One cannot blame Smith alone for that, for Glenn Maxwell was missed sorely. However, it cannot be denied that Smith took some decisions that defied logic completely. ALSO READ: Why Australia’s decision to rest Steven Smith is justified

–  Lastly, rotating the bowlers in the right way. In IPL, Warner had four left-arm seamers under his belt (Ashish Nehra, Cutting, Mustafizur and Barinder Sran), a right-arm swing bowler (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) and left-arm orthodox spinner (Bipul). That was enough to rattle the batsmen.

This time Warner’s batting will be tested. Swift action is required for Australia to retain the No. 1 spot in ODIs. If he leaves Head out until the need of hour, he has two big left-arm spinners at his ploy — Mitchell Starc and James Faulkner. As for the spinners, Nathan Lyon and Adam Zampa can easily do the trick. Zampa, Starc and Faulkner took three apiece despite their defeat in second ODI against Sri Lanka. Moises Henriques can be a backup plan.

Warner needs to bring back that faith, fortitude and support as a leader back to the game. He needs to think like a leader and grab the opportunity available. That animation and aggression need to go hand-in-hand as Australia’s No. 1 spot might be at stake.

(Shruti Hariharan is Content Writer with CricketCountry. You can follow her on Twitter at @Shruti_2890)

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