Australia's 'Reverend' David Warner praying for Ashes answers after England tame opener

Out cheaply: Warner walks from the middle after being dismissed by Ball
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Tom Collomosse24 November 2017

David Warner's plan for this series was to try to force himself to “hate” the England players. If they continue to bowl at him as they did on Friday he will find plenty of reasons to do so.

If history is any guide, Warner will score a century in the second innings of this Test. But records are there to be broken and England will take great encouragement from how they combated Australia’s dangerman.

Warner made just 26 and the tourists got their tactics spot on. The opening batsman loves to bully a bowling attack with early boundaries, so Joe Root posted sweepers on both sides of the wicket. The bowlers rarely gave Warner any width and when they did, there was usually a fielder there to minimise the damage.

Warner faced 43 deliveries and hit only two fours before he scooped a short delivery from Jake Ball to midwicket, where Dawid Malan fumbled but clutched the ball at the second attempt. Warner’s strike rate – a shade over 60 – was significantly below the 77 he has managed during the rest of his Test career. In Warner’s previous four Tests at The Gabba, he scored five centuries, so it was quite an achievement for England to tame him.

England do not care for Warner. They disliked his attitude during the last tour of Australia, in 2013-14, when Alastair Cook’s team were whitewashed 5-0 and Warner made two second-innings centuries, finishing as the leading run-scorer in the series.

Warner has never been shy of a verbal contest and despite his calmer demeanour in recent years, bringing him the nickname ‘the Reverend’ from some colleagues, the pit bull still lurks within.

When Jimmy Anderson walked out to bat at the end of the innings, Warner welcomed him to the wicket with a volley of insults and Anderson responded immediately, prompting umpire Marais Erasmus to step in before the situation escalated.

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Warner should have been full of beans at the start of his innings. England had lost their last six wickets for 56 runs and Warner had taken a fine catch at leg slip to remove Ball. His intention is always to attack from the off but England, aided by an untypical Gabba surface, kept him in check.

Warner, 31, is too good a player not to make his mark on this series. He has 20 Test centuries and an outstanding record in Australia, so his time will surely come, perhaps even when he bats again here.

Four years ago, England appeared to have no response to Warner’s aggressive batting. Yet Root’s captaincy is a little more punchy than Cook’s and all of a sudden, the Reverend finds himself praying for the answers to some pretty tricky questions.

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