David Warner feels Michael Clarke's promotion can lift Australia's batting which has been poor in the series so far © Getty Images
Australian opener David Warner has said that Michael Clarke’s move up will stabilise their batting order in the upcoming Test at Mohali against India.
''I just think it will stabilise us a lot,'' Warner said. ''Instead of losing three wickets we might only lose one wicket and rotate the strike more. I don't think it is necessarily having Michael at number three. It is about the top four knuckling down and scoring runs - that's the main issue. If we can do our job right, there is no reason to reshuffle the order. I think that is the reason why [selectors] are thinking [about] it,” he added, as reported by Sydney Morning Herald.
The in-form Test captain has considered promoting himself at No 3 for the Mohali Test after failure of the top-order in the two heavy defeats at Chennai and Hyderabad.
The top four batsmen managed to put together a score in excess of 100 only once in the two Tests so far. Statistics published by cricket website ESPNCricinfo puts forth the harsh reality of the current top-order of Australia.
This has come on a day when four Australian players — Shane Watson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Johnson and Usman Khawaja — have been sacked for not complying with guidelines put forth by Mickey Arthur.
Arthur confirmed that these four players will not be considered for selection in Mohali Test.
Earlier, Phil Hughes was struggling to perform for the third time in his Test career despite splendid form in ODIs and domestic season.
''Phil is in a patch at the moment where he isn't scoring as many runs as he would like, but I'm sure if the selectors stick by him he will come good,'' Warner said.
''He is the type of player who always puts runs on the board, especially when he scores a hundred he scores a big hundred. It's only a matter of time. 'He is hitting the ball as good as he can in the nets and that's the most frustrating thing as a cricketer — hitting the ball as well as you can in the nets then coming out in the middle and not scoring runs. Hopefully he gets another chance. I just think it's more of a time thing and being patient. I know personally I like to play shots so I have to hold back to not play any shots, but if I play shots with the ball turning away, that brings first and second slip [into play],” he said.
First Published: March 11, 2013, 9:02 pm
