Warner making up for lost Test time: Ponting

From being player of the tournament at the T20 World Cup to eking out runs against the pink ball at a snail’s pace, David Warner’s second consecutive Ashes almost-ton is a sign of his maturation as a cricketer, believes Ricky Ponting.

A jabbed-up Warner defied the pain of his rib injury to post a crucial 95 from 167 balls on the opening day of the second Vodafone Ashes Test and put Australia in a commanding position in the pink-ball encounter.

With the 35-year-old having previously admitted his regret at playing through a groin injury last summer, some had thought Warner may be hesitant to do similar after Mark Wood and Ben Stokes both struck him blows to the ribs during last week’s Gabba Test.

In fact the opposite has proven true.

Warner told Ponting this week that he is making up for lost time after missing a full year of Test cricket, due to his playing ban from 2018, before then also missing two Tests in Australia’s home Test series defeat to India last summer.

“I spoke to Davey before the game and he said he wasn’t going to miss it,” Ponting told cricket.com.au. “The first thing he said to me was, ‘Mate I missed two games last year and I’m not missing anymore this year’.

“Wind the clock back, it wasn’t that long ago that he missed the whole year of Test cricket. So he’s not going to give that up again.

“He was in some discomfort but the longer he batted, the better he seemed.

“(Playing through pain) is something you expect from an Australian cricketer. 

“His ribs are not broken from what we can understand, he’s got some cartilage damage. He wore a big (chest) pad over it today and probably had a bit of assistance from the doc(tor).

“He didn’t go on and get a hundred, which I thought he deserved today.”

Warner, who told reporters his injury had kept him from picking up his children in recent days, is one of only a few batters who have scored a century in the opening session of a Test match.

In the opening session on Thursday, the left-hander managed just eight scoring shots.

He had taken 20 balls to get off the mark as he contended with a swinging pink ball wielded by nemesis Stuart Broad and sidekick Jimmy Anderson.

But Warner then opened his shoulders as the Adelaide Oval lights came on, showing no hesitation in taking on Stokes’ short-ball tactics before throwing away a century for the second time in as many Test innings, scoring one more than the 94 he managed at the Gabba last week.

“He was scratchier in Brisbane that we’ve probably seen for a while, but that was to be expected with him not playing any Test cricket for a long time,” said Ponting.

“Although he was slower today, he didn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is a great sign.

“I think it’s a sign of a maturing player who has had to change his game, mould his game to the conditions he’s confronted with and the bowlers he’s facing.

“All the Australian batsmen would have talked about was how much easier it was going to get as the day went on.

“Especially against Broad and Anderson who are (35) and 39 respectively, who are not going to be able to go full tilt all day.

“Once again, I thought tactically the batting group were outstanding in Brisbane with the way they targeted certain bowlers there.

“Today the way they started and got through tough periods and then, Davey in particular, were able to up the scoring rate in the second session. So far so good for them.”

HCL Vantage Point - Ricky Ponting on England’s bowling tactics:

“Pitch it up and let it swing – that’s one thing England didn’t do.

“They picked an attack to do that but their lengths were seven-and-a-half-metres (down the pitch) right throughout the day. That doesn’t work in Adelaide.

“Why do we think Mitchell Starc has the record he’s got in Adelaide? Because he pitches the ball up and hits the stumps, hits the pads and gets the nicks.

“They’ve not been willing whenever they come here to pitch the ball up. They seem to be happy not conceding many runs and staying in the contest that way.

“But good players are not going to make mistakes – you’ve got to get them out. It’s looked like they haven’t really known how to bowl here in Adelaide.”