Former Australia cricketer David Warner has voiced concerns over Marnus Labuschagne’s form despite a fighting fifty from him in Adelaide. Labuschagne recently struck 64 off 126 balls during the first innings of Adelaide Test against India.
He looked good to play a big knock this time but was caught superbly at gully by Yashasvi Jaiswal off the bowling of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Warner was clearly not impressed with his knock and even took a dig at the way he was dismissed.
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David Warner not impressed with Marnus Labuschagne’s fifty in Adelaide
While speaking to The Herald, David Warner claimed that he wasn’t convinced with Marnus Labuschagne’s mode of dismissals. He mentioned that Marnus Labuschagne is capable of scoring many more runs since he has set high standards for himself.
He was also critical of Labuschagne’s way of dismissal, claiming that the batter was dismissed in the same way as his earlier dismissals. According to Warner, India’s poor bowling helped Marnus Labuschagne but the batter was still not at his best.
“I’m still not convinced about Marnus (Labuschagne). I don’t think that was anywhere near what we know he’s capable of. He might have got a couple out of the middle, got a couple of freebies, batted well that night to get through, but they bowled poorly,” Warner noted.
“So from that perspective, he had the best conditions to come out and bat in. But he got out the same way he always does get out when he gets over 50, hits it straight to gully,” he added.
David Warner speaks on Steve Smith’s batting form
David Warner also spoke about the opposition’s plans of bowling to Steve Smith which has led to some low scores for Australia’s No. 4 batter. He reckons that the teams have been trying to close Smith’s scoring opportunities while the batter is also trying to fix a few things to counter Jasprit Bumrah.
“Steve (Smith) of late, I think a lot of teams have been bowling at his pads and down leg side. So I think from that perspective they’re trying to shut his scoring down quite a bit. You see he’s trying to tinker with fixing certain things with (Jasprit) Bumrah,” Warner said.
“His feet weren’t moving across this time. We know what Steve’s like, one knock and then he’s there. But as we know, the best form of currency is runs so you’ve just got to try your best to churn them out,” the former Australia opener claimed.
David Warner’s advice for Usman Khawaja
David Warner further spoke about his former opening partner Usman Khawaja’s recent run of low scores. He advised Khawaja to have the same attitude at training which will help him to regain form.
“Uz (Usman Khawaja), exactly the same. He’s had a great 12 months before. But then, of late, he hasn’t scored as many runs as he would have liked, but same thing, you’ve just got to go out there and still present the same attitude, the same at training, keep working hard,” he claimed.
While Marnus Labuschagne had a good Test match in Adelaide with a fine fifty, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja are yet to contribute with the bat in this series. Smith has scored 17 runs in two Tests at an average of 6.33 while Khawaja has scored 34 runs at an average of 11.33.
Australia levelled the series with a fine performance in Adelaide. Travis Head produced a Player of the Match-winning performance as he scored a belligerent 140 off 141 balls. Australian fast bowlers too played a key role in the victory as they picked up all the 20 Indian wickets.