Former England captain Nasser Hussain said Australia will have to select David Warner for the fourth Ashes Test despite the loss at Headingley. Hussain, however, feels Australia could have moved on from him had they won the third Test as well. However, after promising starts in the second Test at Lord’s, Stuart Broad dismissed him for single-figure scores at Headingley. After Australia’s three-wicket defeat in the third Test, captain Pat Cummins refused to confirm Warner’s place for Old Trafford.
With the option of playing both Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh, the veteran feels Australia face a challenge to pick who to open with.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “It’s the decision on David Warner. It is a really tricky thing. I think if they’d won here [third Test at Headingley], and they had won the Ashes, it would have been a time to move on from David Warner, but now it’s a live game, I think they need and have to play Warner. My point being you could play Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh and leave Warner out, but then who opens?”
While he believes Australia can open with Marnus Labuschagne, he also added that it’s a specialist spot as well.
“You might have to move Labuschagne, or even Marsh opens in white ball cricket at times, so he could do it. But it’s a different challenge. That’s a specialist role: opening in Test match cricket. They’ll have to think long and hard about who opens the batting at Old Trafford,” he further added.
However, Mitchell Marsh replaced an injured Cameron Green for the third Test at Headingley and smashed a run-a-ball 118 in the first innings and gave two crucial breakthroughs as well.
Meanwhile, former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara backed Hussain and claimed that replacing Warner is not the answer. However, Sangakkara mentioned the need for solid opening partnerships as well.
“I think now they’ll have to play Warner. I’m not sure whether changing that is going to be the answer, but it will be up for discussion, if they have an opener ready. To balance the side out, are they going to leave Mitchell Marsh out? There’s a lot of additions to be made, but that opening spot is critical for Australia. To balance the side out, are they going to leave Mitchell Marsh out? They need partnerships there. They need a 40, 50, 60 run partnership there to let the other batters go and have a bit of a breather. I think Warner might not get another opportunity, but they will discuss that,” he shared.
The fourth Test will start at Old Trafford on July 19.
