Will see a different David Warner in Ashes 2023: Pat Cummins backs Australian opener

Australian skipper Pat Cummins has put his weight behind David Warner for the Ashes, stating we will see a different player in the all-important series. Warner returned with scores of 43 and 1 in the World Test Championship final against India and looked in good touch in the first innings before getting dismissed on an innocuous delivery down the leg side.

However, England’s veteran fast bowler Stuart Broad has been a thorn in David Warner’s flesh from the around-the-wicket angle. Broad has dismissed Warner nine times in the last four years – seven times in the 2019 home series alone – at a remarkable average of 7.22. Ergo, Warner will look to find the right answers against the lanky paceman.

Warner has all the experience under his belt and he will look to deliver the goods at the top of the order along with Usman Khawaja. The opening duo will aim to give solid starts to Australia and they are going to hold the key.

Meanwhile, Warner scored 273 runs in the previous Ashes five-match Test series at an average of 34.12 while playing at home. But Warner had a horrid run in the 2019 Ashes in England as he could only muster 95 runs in five Test matches at an average of 9.5 as he was consistently troubled by Stuart Broad.

“Davey, I know will have all his plans in place,” Cummins told a pre-match press conference.

“I’m sure you’ll see a bit more of an aggressive Davey than perhaps in 2019, and he’s itching to get out there and have another chance at it.”

In the last 20 Test matches, Australia ticked the right boxes as they won 12 games including the WTC Final against India by 209 to become Test Champions.

“We’ve been amazing over the last 20 Test matches,” said Cummins. “And I think you’ve seen a pretty similar style in the way we’ve played, so we don’t want to lose sight of that.”

He added: “We’re big on playing what’s in front of you. Somewhere our batters might take 200 balls to get a hundred and that’s totally fine.”
The first Ashes Test will be played at Edgbaston, Birmingham from June 16 onwards.