David Warner at centre of Aussie coach's telling call ahead of Ashes

Australia's Test cricket coach likes what he's seen from David Warner ahead of the Ashes series, with Andrew McDonald insisting the opener's approach in the WTC final victory over India was "exactly" what they want to see from the 36-year-old. Warner's place at the top of the Aussie order has been the subject of intense debate for months.

Warner has made just the one triple-figure score in Test cricket since January 2020 and endured a torrid time the last time he toured England for an Ashes series in 2019. During that disastrous series, the left-hander averaged a woeful 9.5 across his 10 innings and was dismissed seven times by veteran England paceman, Stuart Broad.

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Any repeat of those batting woes this time around would likely scupper Warner's plans for a Sydney retirement next January, and leave him in serious danger of not surviving the England series. Warner showed glimpses of good form in his first innings against India in the WTC final, where he made a solid 43 before being caught behind for one in his next innings.

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Warner and his opening partner Usman Khawaja only made 57 runs in their four innings combined for the WTC final, with the latter falling for scores of 0 and 13 in a concern for the Aussies heading into the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, starting on Friday. However, McDonald is confident that despite the lack of a big score, his openers would have taken plenty out of the hit-out before the Ashes.

"I thought Davey (Warner) moved well in the first innings," Australia's coach said. "He got strangled down the leg side. You look at that, and you say 'a little bit of luck there and potentially that's a bigger score'.

"But the way he moved, the way he played is exactly what we want. "And Uzzie's last two years speak for themselves. There's going to be failure points for any batters and he's had one. But it doesn't mean he's any less prepared."

Aussies says positive batting approach is key

Warner has consistently maintained that the 2019 Ashes series will not be playing on his mind this time around, and insists that a positive batting mindset will be key against the dangerous England attack. The Aussies were given a stark reminder of how hard things will be at the top of the order in England, when they came up against India's pace contingent at The Oval.

The new-ball period at the start of the day was by far the hardest to bat, particularly with overhead cloud assisting swing and the Dukes ball seaming around dangerously. Australia failed to pass 20 for the opening wicket in any of their 10 Ashes innings in 2019, with Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft also struggling beside Warner.

However, McDonald echoed Warner's notion that a positive batting mindset was key. The Aussie coach says he's confdent Warner and Khawaja will not resort to survival mode, with that defensive approach proving the undoing of the Aussies four years ago.

"I don't think survival comes into most batters' minds these days," McDonald said. "It's more about how you're going to score runs and what your method is going to be.

"Last Ashes series it was on average 2-20, so they're going to be challenged again here. "But as long as they are clear in the method, that's the way to get success over five Test matches."

with AAP

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