David Warner on Saturday said it is unlikely he will recover fully from the groin injury before the third Test, but is doing everything he can to play in Sydney.
“Today and tomorrow will give me a better indication of where I am. I haven’t run in the last couple of days. Am I going to be 100 per cent? Highly doubtful. But I’m doing everything I can to get on that park and play, even if that means I’m not 100 per cent,” Warner said at a virtual media interaction.
Australia will hold its next two training sessions at the Melbourne Cricket Ground over the weekend and Warner said his fielding will ultimately decide whether or not he plays the next Test.
Fielding key
“It’s about being smart on this occasion,” he said.
“If I feel like I can do my duties, whether it’s standing in the slip cordon, taking catches to my right and left and not be a hindrance there, that’s where it’s going to determine whether I do play or not.
“I know I can manage the running between wickets, the shot making I have, it’s whether I have that capacity of catching the balls left and right. With Gazza [Nathan Lyon] bowling, am I going to field at first slip or leg slip? I’ve got to be agile enough to make sure I’m taking those chances.”
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The 34-year-old, who suffered a groin injury during the second ODI against India at the end of November, has rejoined the Australian squad and will fly to Sydney on Monday.
Quite challenging
Expanding on his extensive rehabilitation process, Warner said, “I had a couple of jabs to get me pain free. The first two weeks were quite challenging, it was difficult to move around in bed and get in and out the car. When it comes to these tendon issues, they hang around for quite a while and it’s quite hard to get through that pain threshold. We are doing everything we can to fast track that process.”
In Warner’s absence, Australia’s batting has struggled to impose itself on the Indian bowling attack, which has been probing and disciplined. Australia’s current series scoring rate of 2.52 is its slowest in a home series since the 1986-87 Ashes when it was going at 2.51.
Right mindset
Warner said the right mindset and intent will be the key to whether the Australian batsmen can bounce back in the series.
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“It’s the loud calling, the way your shoulders are back, you are in the bowler’s face, you are trying to unsettle their line and length,” he said. “It has its challenges but sometimes you have to play outside the square. I would rather go down swinging than sitting there on the crease. If I’m able to get out there, I’ll have that intent as I always have.
“On the flip side, if they are bowling well you have to respect that. That’s what has happened in the last two Tests. Both attacks have bowled so well that batsmen have got into that period of trying to bat time and that’s dictated the run rate. But you can’t do anything about that if the attack is going well. You are going to have to play a shot somewhere… if you nick off someone says it’s a bad shot, if you hit it for four it’s a great shot. I live by the sword, die by the sword when I’m out there with the bat.”
The third Test will begin from January 7, 2021 on Sony Six, Sony Ten 1 and Sony Ten 3 channels.
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