McDonald puts his weight behind David Warner

MELBOURNE, May 24

Australia are optimistic that David Warner will have a big Ashes and have backed him to deliver at the top of the order.

Selectors had equivocated on whether the left-hander was locked in for the Ashes series against England after a difficult tour of India but head coach Andrew McDonald offered a firm endorsement today.

“We’re optimistic with what Dave’s got left, we’ve picked him in the squad and we feel he’ll play a really big part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship,” McDonald said.

Warner was included in Australia’s squad for the WTC final against India and the first two Ashes Tests but selectors kept their options open at the top of the batting by also calling up Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw.

“He’s an important part of that squad, and if he wasn’t, we would’ve had a clear checkpoint after the WTC going into the Ashes,” added McDonald. “That’s not the case, we’ve picked our squad for the first two Ashes tests as well, so he’s clearly in our plans and ready to go.”

Apart from a defiant 200 against South Africa in December, Warner has struggled for runs in recent Tests, making a total of 26 in three innings in the recent tour of India before returning home injured. — Reuters

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