David Warner Batting Position: Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee suggest where Australian Batsman should bat during Cricket World Cup 2019

David Warner Batting Position: Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee suggest Warner’s batting position for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 in England

After a one-year ban post the infamous ball-tampering scandal last year, David Warner (and Steve Smith) is back with the same old vigour and efficacy in the Australian cricketing set-up.

The Southpaw from Sydney has been brilliant with the bat for Australia in the limited-overs format, averaging 43.43 in the 104 innings in ODIs.

The point of conundrum is that the one year absence, has got the Australian team management scratching their heads a bit. Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja have been in sublime form at the top for the Aussies off-late.

With Warner back in the squad, and Shaun Marsh pressing a strong claim at the no.3 spot, the issue at hand is where should Warner and Khawaja bat?

Of all the opinions, it is the opinions of the Aussie legends viz. Adam Gilchrist, Brett Lee, and Mark Waugh which really matters, for sure.

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Former opening wicket-keeper batsman and two-time World Cup winner, Adam Gilchrist has a clear head and a say in this regard.

“I think Warner has got to be at the top,” Gilchrist said at Fox Cricket’s World Cup launch on Tuesday.

“Sometimes you’ve got to stop and think, ‘What would an opponent least like you to do?’ “And that’s Dave Warner coming out to make an impact right from the start of the game”, he added.

Aussie legendary fast bowler, Brett Lee also holds similar views. Lee feels that the fear Warner used to instill in the batsmen has perhaps increased since the ball-tampering saga. “David Warner put the fear in bowlers before his ball-tampering suspension, but things have changed – he’s even better”, Lee said.

“Will pip Kohli and Gayle in the World Cup”- Lee

Next in his sights is the World Cup in England, where Lee believes David Warner will beat players such as Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle to be named Player of the Tournament.

Brett Lee  exclaimed that the intensity which Warner showed during the IPL, that ‘hunger’ in his eyes was clearly visible. “(He) looks hungry – batting the best I’ve ever seen him bat,” Lee told foxsports.com.au at the SCG on Tuesday.

“He ran – he looked fit,” Lee added. “Forty-three degrees in Hyderabad, I was watching him in one of the play-offs, and he ran, and ran, and ran. To me, that’s a sign of being hungry.

Even the former Aussie opener, Mark Waugh said that Warner should bat at the opening slot alongside skipper Aaron Finch. “While the field is up he’s very aggressive and can play with great intent, laying the platform for the rest of the innings,” Waugh said.

David Warner was in sublime touch in the recently concluded IPL, as he amassed 692 runs in 12 innings (playing as an opener), at a whooping average of 69.20. He was adjudged as the Orange Cap winner for scoring the most number of runs, despite playing only 12 innings.

However, he could only score a total of 41 runs in 3 innings against the Black Caps in the unofficial warm-up match between the two sides. While he batted with Finch at the top in the first match, he was pushed down at no.3 in the last two One-Dayers, thus making it unclear as to what the Aussie selectors are thinking at the moment.

However, it is a good problem to have, to look at it in an optimistic manner.

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