Powerful hitter David Warner has been a constant threat to Pakistan’s bowlers on this tour, but it has been in white-ball cricket only.
A half-century in the Twenty20 clash in Dubai on October 5 followed by 43, 29 and 56 in the one-day series have left the opener in top form ahead of the two-Test series which starts in Dubai on Wednesday.
There is one snag though. Or possibly two.
Firstly, Test cricket’s No.5-ranked batsman strained a groin muscle on October 12 in the one-day game against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and has been rested from this week’s four-day match against Pakistan A.
The NSW hard man has been keen to prove his fitness and had a net session on Friday in between stints of walking laps with the temperature in the high 30s at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
And secondly while Warner appears to be striding purposefully towards playing in the Dubai Test, the left-hander’s red-hot form has come without any red-ball cricket.
Australia’s captain Michael Clarke has warned his batting lineup their ability to counter Pakistan’s spin and reverse swing will be crucial in the Test series.
The team’s batting coach Michael Di Venuto says Warner’s recent run-scoring feats mean he’ll be able to play his usual attacking role in the first Test despite not having any match experience in red-ball conditions on this tour.
“I don’t think it makes too much difference with Davey at the moment the type of cricket he’s playing,” Di Venuto told AAP.
“He’s very consistent and he has been over a period of time in all forms.
“He’s really confident at the moment. He’s playing terrific cricket.
“He seems to be walking around the oval pretty well here in the last couple of days. I’m sure he’ll be fine come game day.
“It’s hard to keep the Bull down. He’s just itching to get back out there.”
DAVID WARNER’S 2014
* Tests: 4
* Runs: 575 at 71.87 including 3 hundreds
* One-day internationals: 6
* Runs: 282 at 47.00
* Twenty20 Internationals: 6
* Runs: 184 at 36.00
WARNER’S UAE SERIES AGAINST PAKISTAN
* T20 International on Oct 5: 53 not out off 39 balls
* One-day series Oct 7-10-12: 128 runs at 42.66.
