Ashes 2023: England Will Target David Warner Due To His Bad Form, Says Michael Atherton

Former England batter and captain Michael Atherton believes that the upcoming Ashes series will be the last one for Australia opener David Warner and that the English team will keep the pressure on the veteran batter.

Warner, who is currently captaining Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2023, has not been in a good form on the international level for some time now. Even in the IPL, his runs are coming at a very slow pace, sometimes to the detriment of his team.

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At the age of 36, even David Warner is aware that Ashes 2023 in England will be his last one. Over the past few months, he has alluded to retirement several times.

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Atherton, who played in his fair share of Ashes series, recalled Warner’s dismal Ashes tour last time around in a column for Sky Sports, writing –

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“In the last Ashes, when he came unstuck against Stuart Broad, he averaged I think 9.5 in what was a pretty horrific series for him. So he has got to banish all those bad memories and recent memories of England and try and finish strongly.”

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He also suggested that David Warner will be targeted by the England National Cricket Team and put pressure an him.

“It is going to be his last Ashes tour and last Ashes series, in all probability, and he will want to finish on a high. He is, or has been, a high-class player for a long period of time. They will want to keep the pressure on Warner for all kinds of reasons,” said Atherton.

Australia does not have a suitable replacement for David Warner at the moment

In the same column, Michael Atherton reckons that David Warner might have been ousted from the Australia National Cricket Team by this point if a suitable replacement was available.

Warner is expected to open in the Ashes and the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) final against India with Usman Khwaja, with Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris as other available options.

Atherton claims that Renshaw and Harris are not established Test openers, so Australia is currently stuck with an out-of-form (on the international level) David Warner in the team.

If they had an absolutely top-notch, ready-made replacement, then there might have been a stronger case for leaving him (Warner) out… But if you look at those who are in the squad as kind of back-up openers – Matthew Renshaw, Marcus Harris – they are not really established Test-match openers,” he wrote.

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David Warner will probably look to end his decade-long career for Australia on a high with an impressive performance in Ashes 2023.

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