'Natural' Warner adjusts to life in charge

If David Warner's intention was to oversee a seamless ODI captaincy transition from the incumbent to the interim, he made a flawless start to his tenure as Australia’s 23rd men’s captain in the 50-over format.

Asked to call as his rival captain Angelo Mathews flipped the coin into the gusty Dambulla wind and it bounced across the baked dry, closely shaved match pitch, Warner opted to stick with his predecessor’s preferred nomination of 'heads'.

Report & Highlights: Australia grab series lead in Dambulla

And then stood back ruefully, as Smith had done in all three of the preceding Test matches and the most recent ODI – games all won by Sri Lanka – as it settled tail-up.

The 29-year-old admitted he would – in keeping with the results of every game on this tour that had, up to that point, replicated the result of the coin toss – have batted first had he been granted the option.

But he was probably just happy to have made it to that point of the day uninjured, given he was almost hobbled when a ball hurled in from Sri Lankan outfielders engaging in some pre-match fielding practice scooted across the wicket block and scorched past his left ankle.

While he was waiting for the television presenter to begin the formalities of the coin toss.

Even his final pre-game address to his team, having spoken briefly to the entire touring party before the Australians began their warm-ups, was also overshadowed by events unfolding around him.

This time it was the avenue of raised bats through which Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan, himself a former national ODI skipper, entered the arena having announced he would also be leaving his team midway through a series.

Image Id: ~/media/DBFAD6A306C44C348512A64D72DE1D24 Image Caption: Warner congratulates Dilshan after his final ODI innings // Getty

Although unlike Smith, he won’t be reappearing down the track.

Except for the pair of upcoming T20 Internationals against Australia, where he gets to bid a similarly heartfelt farewell to fans in Kandy and Colombo.

If Warner was going to differentiate himself as a leader in modern-day sport by berating teammates at the slightest mistake, he had his opportunity from the opening ball when Josh Hazlewood fumbled at deep fine leg, gifting Sri Lanka an additional run.

But Warner’s character – and, as a result, his credentials – is largely built upon boundless energy, positivity and confidence, and it didn’t take him long to inject himself into the game.

After Mitchell Starc made his customary breakthrough in the opening over, Warner – who began the game in Smith’s preferred primary spot at second slip – plucked a sharp chance low to his left from Hazlewood’s bowling.

Proving in the course of one act that captaincy had not dulled his concentration and the fracture to his left index finger that saw him take an enforced break earlier this year and had forced him out of the slips cordon had fully healed.

"I think he’s a natural leader," George Bailey, who served almost 30 times as stand-in skipper when previous captain Michael Clarke was either out injured or being rested, said of Warner’s captaincy debut after it had ended in a two-wicket win to Australia.

"He’s always been a leader in terms of the way he plays the game and a lot of the things we talk about as a team. And Boof (coach Darren Lehmann) has always talked about, driving the game and playing the game aggressively, taking the game on. 

"You’re talking about Davey Warner when you do that.

"The conversations that I was privy to when he was talking to the bowlers (on Sunday), he was really clear and direct.

"He keeps things simple and they’re all pretty good things to have as a skipper.

"I think it suits him."

With two top-order wickets inside four overs, including Sri Lanka’s 21-year-old batting prodigy Kusal Mendis, Warner might have been forgiven for thinking this international captaincy thing was a bit of a lark.

Even when Dilshan and the always-reliable Dinesh Chandimal pushed their third-wicket partnership beyond 70, the novice skipper gave the impression he had all the answers.

Late in the 19th over, leg spinner Adam Zampa held a conference with his captain and, after considerable debate, Warner directed the fielder at deep mid-wicket to shift squarer along the boundary rope in what seemed a plot to cover Dilshan’s sweep shot.

Which saw Zampa dismiss the veteran with his next ball, though it’s doubtful either bowler or skipper could take much credit for the veteran batter turning a flighted leg break into a full toss, only to chip at head-height to mid-wicket.

Allrounder James Faulkner had indicated on match eve that Warner had challenged the Australia bowlers to employ their own bowling plans and field settings, and that the captain would then back them to the hilt in executing them.

But the obvious point of difference between game three and the two that came before it was that Australia (read Warner) stuck to their five specialist bowlers for the full 49.2 overs.

Part-time off-spinner Travis Head only saw the ball when fielding, and the seam-heavy attack largely did their job on a dry, slow pitch that made the omission of specialist off-spinner Nathan Lyon appear curious at the outset.

The only tricks that Warner missed was the couple of squandered chances to claim important wickets.

And he had only himself to blame for those.

A spilled chance off Chandimal (on 40) when he edged Hazlewood to the gully position that Warner had especially employed in despite more than 20 overs having elapsed.

But unlike his first clean snare, Warner was unable to hold the chance as he dived low to his left despite getting both hands to it.

Then there was the run-out when Chandimal had reached 89 and was being left short of partners, trying to pinch a single to Warner at cover who had time to load up, aim but narrowly miss his shy from side-on that would have seen the Sri Lanka vice-captain well short.

And even his first chance to exercise a review, late in the innings when Dilruwan Perera was on two and Chandimal nearing his hundred, was not upheld because while Adam Zampa’s delivery pitched on leg stump and looked to be hitting, the evidence was insufficient to overturn the on-field official’s call.

A decision that will doubtless be different when the ICC introduces their new DRS ball-tracking guidelines in time for Australia’s upcoming ODI tour to South Africa, by which time Smith will be back in charge of the reviews.

As well as all the other bits and bobs that accompany the right to toss the coin, place the field and nominate the batting and bowling order.

Throughout the day, Warner would regularly engage his bowlers and Bailey – the player with the most international captaincy experience on the field for Australia – in discussions.

Not so much to implement radical plans, but more for reassurance that things were progressing as they should.

"As much as anything, in my opinion, it’s just so he can verbalise what’s going on in your head," Bailey said.

"Wadey (Matthew Wade), Finchy (Aaron Finch), myself, SoS (Shaun Marsh) and all of the quicks have now played enough games where they know what they want.

"We’ll keep giving him (Warner) as many options as we can and he can discard them as he sees fit.

"I know that the times I’ve captained, I’d much rather have too many ideas coming at me and I can get rid of the ones I don’t need, than when no one is coming up at all.

"Because that’s normally the sign things aren’t going your way. 

"I don’t think we’ll come out with anything too radical (under Warner’s leadership), it was more just letting Bull (Warner) talk through what his plans were, and they were pretty much always on the money."

Sri Lanka’s 226 was a target the Australians were "comfortable" in chasing according to Bailey, so the new skipper would have been pleased with the half-day’s work at the innings break.

But it was with the bat that the new captain was looking to stamp his authority, having fallen for single figure scores in his first two outings of the ODI series after a comparatively lean Test campaign.

His measured start might have been a reflection of his uncertain recent past just as much as it might have spoken of the additional responsibility handed to him.

Ten balls faced before a boundary came via a sweetly timed punch through extra cover that cruised to the rope.

Two deliveries later and Warner was reduced to non-playing captain for the remainder of the game, the timing that served him so well earlier in that Angelo Mathews over proving his demise as he bunted a back-foot punch further in the air than he hoped only for Dilshan to scoop the catch.

"He’s getting really, really hungry and angry for runs which is an exciting thing for us to see," Bailey said in the wake of Warner’s personal shortcoming in his team’s overall success that carried them to a 2-1 lead in the five-match ODI Series.

Following his dismissal, Warner alternated between the Australia team’s dressing room and a ringside seat just beyond the boundary as his men stumbled, stood up, slumped again and ultimately surged to a win.

Which is pretty much the measure of any captain.

And was the currency that Smith had found in such worryingly short supply prior to his departure.