Khawaja best replacement if Warner injured: Ponting

Usman Khawaja has been endorsed by Ricky Ponting to play the second Vodafone Ashes Test if David Warner is sidelined by a rib injury the former Australia captain deemed worrisome.

Warner did not take to the field at all on Friday having suffered severe bruising to his ribs after being struck two nasty blows while batting on day two when he made an important 94 in Australia’s first innings.

The 35-year-old was sent for X-rays on Thursday after play having been pinned in the ribs by speedster Mark Wood when he was yet to reach double digits, before Ben Stokes then got him in a similar spot when he was on 26.

While those scans showed no break and Australia expect he will be right to bat in their second innings , Warner could be under a cloud for the Adelaide day-night Test beginning Thursday if his discomfort lingers.

“It's a worry that he's not out there at all,” Ponting told cricket.com.au today. “We’ll have a better idea when he bats or if he bats at all in the second innings.

“I noticed that after he got hit, he came out after one of the breaks and you could see that he had a little (chest) guard over that area.

“I got a bit worried about it then because I've never seen him with a chest guard on before.

“Even if it’s just bruising, I would think that he'd be out there fielding so there might be a bit more to it than what we're hearing.”

And Warner might have good reason to take extra precautions in his recovery given the regret he expressed for returning from a groin injury against India last summer.

The left-hander missed the first two Tests but then rushed to return for the remaining two matches in a move he admitted later was a mistake.

"Looking back in hindsight, I probably wouldn't have done that,” he said earlier this year.

Will Pucovski, who debuted as Warner’s opening partner in January, is not expected to play any cricket until the new year after a recent concussion and unlikely to play any part in the Ashes.

It leaves Usman Khawaja, who missed out to Travis Head for the No.5 spot in Australia’s first Test XI, as the logical next man in should Australia require one in their top order.

Ponting suggested his lack of recent opening experience could be an issue for a Test where batting under lights is often treacherous due to the extra swing and skid off the pitch the pink Kookabura offers at night.

While Khawaja is batting at No.5 in the ongoing Australia A match against England Lions in Brisbane and has slotted in at No.4 for the Queensland team he captains in the Marsh Sheffield Shield, the 34-year-old does has a formidable opening record from limited opportunities in Test cricket.

He also has strong pedigree facing the new ball in a day-night Test in Adelaide, hitting 145 after being forced to open instead of Warner against South Africa in 2016-17. His famous match-saving 141 against Pakistan in Dubai in 2018 also came as an opener.

All up, he has 484 runs at 96.80 at the top of the order in seven Test innings.

That is enough to make him a stronger contender than either of the current Australia A openers Henry Hunt (who made 33 and 38 in the Lions tour match) and Bryce Street (who was not out on 76 in Australia A’s second dig at stumps on Friday), according to Ponting.

“If (Warner) can't play, I think it's probably Khawaja that goes in and opens the batting,” he said.

“Although he hasn't done it the last couple years for Queensland he's done it for Australia before. He's obviously in really good form, so I think that's probably the way to go.

“I think he's experienced enough, but the fact he hasn't done it for a while would be a bit of a concern.

“As a batsman, if there's one place you probably don't want to be opening it’s a pink ball game in Adelaide because you might happen to get put in at night.

“We saw what England did there on the last (Ashes) tour (in 2017-18) – there was one night in that Test match when England got to bowl late with a brand new ball and it swung all over the place.

“I think he can do it, and if it's not him then I'm not sure where I’d be looking at it because you don’t want to be bringing anyone young in because it’s such a big series.”

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“If you think back through his career, he’s always been a little bit back with his weight and a little bit inside the line of the ball hence why he ends up feeling for a lot of wide balls that he doesn’t need to.

“It’s obvious that they’ve been trying to get him across and more in line with the ball, which allowed him to play those pull shots and cut shots really well.

“And even the shots down the ground – I don’t think I’ve recalled Travis Head playing a classical on-drive. The shot he played to bring up his hundred was just the perfect on-drive.

“Good signs there technically. To be able to play an on-drive back down the ground is always a good sign.”