Australia just bagged the Test series against Pakistan by 3-0. Once again, they have shown their brilliance. After playing the Test series against Pakistan, David Warner retired from the Test format. After his exit, Cricket Australia is looking for an opener for the upcoming days. Steve Smith is willing to open the innings for Australia. Pat Cummins is still not convinced of that decision. The Aussie coach talked about this.
David Warner’s Retirement and Smith’s Desire:
After an exciting career, David Warner retired from Test cricket. Throughout his career, David Warner has been an asset to Australia’s opening position. After winning the Test Championship final, Warner announced his retirement from the longest format of cricket. In the last series, he played exceptionally well. He scored an excellent century in the first inning. In the last innings of his Test career, he scored an amazing half-century. Australia won the series by 3-0.
After Warner’s exit, the Australian team is hunting for a new opener for Warner’s place. Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, and Matt Renshaw are in the race to be the opener. Steve Smith is also willing to open the innings for the team. He expressed his desire to be the opener. But Pat Cummins is not convinced of this change.
Coach’s Words:
After Smith desired to be the opener of the team, Australian coach Andrew McDonald opened up about this. He said, “(Steve) had some strong thoughts, he’s made that public. So we’ll consider all options. It’s nice to have him putting his hand up. I think there were a few others that weren’t putting their hand up. But Steve at No.3 or No.4 is pretty appetising also. You’ve got to make sure you’re not removing the strengths of the team in the search to fill a gap also. So there’s a balance within that.”
The Coach is interested to see Cameron Green as the opener. On this matter, he said, “ I think Cameron Green is potentially underrated in the way that he can play Test level as well. He’s only young in his cricketing career and we’ve seen what he’s been able to do in white-ball cricket. In particular T20. We know he’s got those gears. We know that he can play the high and the low. He’s arguably in our best lineup depending on which way we go.”
Australia’s selection committee plans to convene on Monday to decide the squad for the first Test against West Indies and select a replacement for Warner. The chief selectors will meet soon to finalize the squad for the upcoming Test series, and more details are anticipated after the announcement.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
