David Warner’s Ashes rally for Australia suggests he can find a way to take the final Tests to England

Quiz question: who opened the batting for Australia in their first Test Match of 2019? Not coming easily? This isn’t a trick – you aren’t looking for a one-hit wonder. OK, it was Marcus Harris and Usman Khawaja. A week earlier at Melbourne, Aaron Finch was doing the honours. All told, in their last seven outings, five combinations have fronted up at the top of the list for Tim Paine. It is often joked that most batsmen of a certain age in England have been given a go at the job since Andrew Strauss retired, but same is now true for their rival since Chris Rogers put the cue in the rack at the end of this corresponding tour in 2015.

Of course, a major driver of this inconsistency has been the absence of David Warner, and to a lesser extent Cameron Bancroft. During their sandpaper bans, Justin Langer spoke often about the Tests of experience they were getting into players through that period that otherwise wouldn’t have been so. In this respect, he was thinking about Harris and Travis Head. Still, it was curious that the coach said two days ago that there would be no change to Australia’s batting line-up for this Test only to switch out Bancroft for the southpaw. He had earned this tour, but the spot looked destined to stay with the right-hander not on this basis of his 44 runs in two Tests but the fact that he survived 168 minutes at Lord’s last week.

This discombobulation – and Smith’s absence, in the short-term – is why Warner’s output was bound to serve as the barometer this week. Four single-digit scores to start, and an underwhelming record in Ashes Tests in this country, prompted what might amount to some quiet whispers about his spot after Lord’s working over. Of course, this is nonsense: this is a guy who reached 20 Test tons in fewer innings than Viv Richards. But he did need to quickly get himself into the contest before it was too late. And what better way to get Warner switched on and firing than to pop him right in the middle of a scrap against Stuart Broad?

His chief tormenter was on one from the get-go. His fourth ball of the Test to Warner – who, unusually for him, elected to face the first delivery – was the definition of unplayable. In the second over, it was repeated three further times. Broad has bowled the defining spell of three consecutive Ashes series in this country and was shaping up like he was on the cusp of doing another. But the edge never came. Rogers has often discussed the affliction of openers who follow the moving ball. Warner didn’t – he played the line and survived.

Before the first interruption of the morning, it was Harris instead who instead nicked behind, Archer landing his off-cutter to perfection. Warner was yet to score but it didn’t matter. Nor that Broad kept on keeping on, sorting him out again with the first ball after the delay. Not long after getting off the mark a leg-before appeal followed, not too dissimilar to how he fell to him at Edgbaston the first time around. When Archer got his chance – at last – he went past the bat two more times in succession, albeit from balls that didn’t require strokes.

open image in gallery

By now, he had lost Khawaja and had played and missed 11 of his first 27 deliveries. Some daunting stats popped up, CricViz calculating that Warner had never been in less control – by their metrics – at any stage in the first 30 balls of a stay at the crease. The easy conclusion that he was riding his luck, but equally, the 32-year-old was benefitting from 77 Tests worth of experience – understanding the extent to which the deck was stacked against him on a day like this where there is so much movement with the Dukes coming to life under lights.

That Marnus Labuschagne joined him either side of another weather delay was ideal timing. The gutsy Queenslander might be new to Ashes fare but he has a calming influence in a similar fashion to that of Smith – maybe it’s how he has started mimicking his lightsaber leaves. Warner took three off Archer through cover – tight, compact – and three more through midwicket – carefully timed. He was busy off Chris Woakes. His 50-ball milestone was more important than the 25 runs he was on at this point. He knew it could only get easier.

After bad light and tea combined, Warner reached the rope from his first ball back – off an edge, on the bounce – nothing wrong with that. Labuschagne returned serve later in the over when putting away a long half-volley. Sure enough, the plays and misses were coming less frequently. Two lots of overthrows went his way as well, Australia now beyond 100. For a moment the punditry consensus turned: had Joe Root erred by sending Australia in?

Warner’s most productive and attractive shot in the second half of his international career has been the punch behind point – he lashed Ben Stokes for four with it to move to 49. With England’s bowling getting shorter, he was able to get back to slap to a half-century over the cordon – a risky shot for newer players, but he’s hardly one of those. For the first time in three tours, he had raised his bat in the first innings of a Test in England. To finish, a third boundary in the over: the same stroke that started it, from the balls of his feet. The 100-stand was up and the run rate too, above four an over after such a wobbly start.

Stokes was furious – he’s also played enough cricket to sense the inevitably about Warner by this stage. But Archer hadn’t. Returning to place the all-rounder up what is left of the Headingley Hill, he turned the clock back two hours and beat the set man with his first ball – a jagging one at that. Broad, brought back too, did the same – earning the edge on the field but overturned by DRS. Warner reviewed immediately, marking his guard. It mattered little – Archer did the job minutes later, at least a feather landing in the gloves of Jonny Bairstow.

open image in gallery

That Warner had been halted and removed by England’s shiny new opening pair was destined to change the trajectory of the day. Broad toppled Travis Head with something from the top shelf, Wade flummoxed by Archer without scoring as well. Labuschagne survived plenty then thrived to a second half-century on the bounce while the Tim Paine, James Pattinson and Pat Cummins were smothered. “He’s going to be playing Test cricket for a while,” Michael Vaughan’s simple assessment. Only for Stokes to rap him with a bizarre full toss just minutes before the close. The Leeds standing ovation he received was sincere.

So, from 136/2 to all-out 179. Should we be surprised from a batting line up so fragile? So yes, the probability of Australia winning this is remote – maybe it always was without Smith. But surely the only way they find a way to get it done at Manchester or South London is if the man with 21 tons can make it count. At least, after today, Warner may have found a way.