A trickle of runs could soon become a flood for David Warner, according to Test teammate Nathan Lyon and former opening partner Chris Rogers.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
Warner is down on form and confidence at the start of a critical three-month stretch, which begins with Australia's Twenty20 World Cup opener on Saturday night (AEDT).
There is no suggestion the veteran, who next week turns 35, is at risk of being dropped for the clash with South Africa.
But Warner's uncharacteristic T20 slump, which extended when trapped lbw by Ravichandran Ashwin in Australia's final World Cup warm-up game, arguably headlines the list of coach Justin Langer's concerns on tournament eve.
The opening batter, having represented Australia in almost 300 games, has logged scores of zero, two, zero and one since landing in the UAE for the second phase of the IPL.
Warner's woes date back to May, when Sunrisers Hyderabad felt compelled to drop him from their XI and find a new captain in Kane Williamson.
"I spoke to him the other day. Davey's Davey, I've got full confidence he'll bounce back," Lyon said, admitting an on-song Warner would go a "long way" to success at the event.
"The wheel often goes around in cricket. He just needs to trust his process and he'll come out of it.
"I'm actually backing him to have a pretty big World Cup and massive Ashes to be honest."
It is often foolish to draw too many parallels between formats.
But a quick turnaround between the World Cup and Ashes, with both squads heading directly to Queensland to quarantine after the tournament, mean there will be limited time for any player needing to reset.
Warner will be desperate to improve on a poor 2019 Ashes in England but also his previous Test summer against India, which was ruined by a serious groin injury.
Rogers conceded "no runs always looks really worrying".
"But Davey's obviously a proven player and a big-time player as well," Rogers added.
"We all know, he's one score away from having a huge tournament.
"So let's back him in."
Australian Associated Press
