David Warner is poised to hold his spot for the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford after training with Australia’s slip cordon alongside Mitch Marsh on Monday.
Warner’s place has been in the spotlight in the lead-up to the start of the potential series decider on Wednesday following his failure in both innings at Headingley.
Complicating the matter was Marsh’s century while filling in for injured all-rounder Cameron Green in Leeds, with that pair now both available and fighting to play.
There had been speculation that either Marsh or Green could potentially open with Usman Khawaja at Old Trafford, leaving Warner out in the cold.
But any sign of that was was largely killed off at training on Monday, with Warner practising at first slip and Marsh at gully while Green ran with squad reserves.
It suggests Australia will make only the one change for the fourth Test, with Josh Hazlewood likely to come in for Scott Boland.
The development comes after Khawaja said Warner would play as his opening partner. “Yep,” he said, when asked if he expected to walk out alongside Warner.
“From my point of view Dave Warner has been one of the greatest openers of all time. It is him and Haydos (Matt Hayden) right up there for Australia. The top two ever. So I will always back Davey no matter what, and the other guys will too.”
Warner had earlier joined Khawaja and Marcus Harris to face the new ball in the nets on Sunday.
Warner and Khawaja share a close bond, having opened the batting together in junior cricket in Sydney before being reunited last year at the top of Australia’s order.
And Khawaja said it was easy to overlook the work the pair had done together in this year’s Ashes, including three successive half-century partnerships in tough conditions.
“It’s massive, and a thankless job,” Khawaja said.
David Warner reacts after being dismissed by Stuart Broad. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
“We go out there and got a really good start at Lord’s in heavy overhead conditions. I got out just last over before lunch but that sets up the game for us.
“Steve Smith comes out and batted in the sunshine and gets the beautiful 100.
“As an opener, sometimes you don’t always record your good days on how many runs you made. Sometimes it’s just about just grinding through those tough times.
“We’ve had three 50-run partnerships against Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad.
“That is as tough as it gets in England. You have to pay some respect to that.”
Hazlewood sure he can finish with back-to-back Tests
Josh Hazlewood has set his sights on playing the last two Ashes Tests, confident his body can play through a tight turnaround for the first time in two-and-a-half years.
Hazlewood is expected to return to Australia’s side for the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford on Wednesday, with Scott Boland the man likely to miss out.
Under an injury cloud before the start of this series after missing the Test Championship final, Hazlewood bowled through the first two Test wins without issue before being put on the ice for the loss at Headingley.
A bigger challenge now awaits for him.
While a series of side and Achilles injuries limited Hazlewood to four Tests in two years before this series, the other notable aspect has been his lack of back-to-back matches.
The right-arm quick has not played a Test on a short turnaround since the end of the 2020-21 summer against India.
That is the reality that will await him after Manchester, with only three days scheduled between the end of Old Trafford and Lord’s.
But Hazlewood is confident it will not be an issue for him.
“Missing Headingley, the reason was probably to set me up for the last two games,” Hazlewood said.
“I know they’re back-to-back but we haven’t bowled a lot of overs. Hopefully with that work behind me now, I’m in a better position than I was a month ago.
“That sort of puts me in a good place to hopefully get through those last two games and and play my role and do what I usually do.”
England’s aggressive batting has meant Australia’s quicks have bowled an average of 105.4 overs between them into the series, compared to the hosts’ workload of 144.
Old Trafford will bring back good memories for the seamer, having taken 6-88 for the match in 2019 to help Australia retain the Ashes.
Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
A similar chance awaits in this Test, with a victory enough to secure Australia their first series win in England since 2001.
Hazlewood said he had been happy with how he had bowled on return from the long lay off of injuries, having taken eight wickets at 32.5 in the first two Tests.
“I have felt pretty good. I was probably a little bit underdone for that World Test Championship and then got ready for the first game,” Hazlewood said.
“I didn’t seem too rusty when I was out there in the middle. Once you get that big day of workload underneath you, you feel a lot better for the run.
“I felt better and better as I was going along. Hopefully after that little break, I’ll coming out firing again.”
Lyon adamant calf won’t be a career-ender
A shattered Nathan Lyon says he knew his Ashes were over the moment he clutched at his torn right calf muscle and limped off the field in the second Test at Lord’s.
Speaking for the first time since returning to Australia, Lyon admitted he had to hide away during the tense final day at Lord’s and had struggled to watch Test cricket since.
He also joked that players had claimed his run of consecutive Tests now sat at 99.5 rather than 100, given he did not bowl after his first spell at Lord’s.
Australia had publicly maintained some hope during the Test that Lyon would play on in the series, but the 36-year-old said he knew immediately his Ashes were over after he sprinted in from the boundary to try to take a catch.
“I went to take off and I just heard this little gun shot and just felt it go straight away. I knew straight away my series was done there and then,” Lyon told the Willow Talk Cricket podcast.
“I was confident I would have caught that catch if I was able to push off my right foot. I remember Uzzie (Khawaja) running over saying ‘what’s up? You got a cramp?’.
“And I said ‘nup, I’ve just blown my calf to bits’. The emotions set in then I sat in the changerooms for the next three-and-a-half days.”
Lyon is adamant the injury will not mark the end of his career and remains confident he will play in the first Test of the home summer against Pakistan in December.
He is also confident his decision to bat at Lord’s with the torn calf has not put that comeback in doubt, after he and Mitchell Starc added 15 runs for the last wicket.
Lyon said he had to win over his partner Emma, medical staff and captain Pat Cummins to return to the field to bat.
“Em just looked at me and said ‘you are an absolute idiot. I’m helping you in the shower and everything like that, you’re an idiot’, Lyon recalled. “I went to the ground, spoke to the medical team in the morning, they said ‘nah, you’re not batting’.
“So I went to Pat (Cummins) and Pat said ‘you’re not batting, Gaz, get it out of your head’.
“I went to (coach Andrew McDonald) and said ‘I am batting’. He goes ‘good, I’m thinking the same thing’. I knew the risks. If it was a minor tear I probably wouldn’t have gone out … But I knew I was out for the next 10-12 weeks.”
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