AUS vs WI: "Best Test Batsman In World" - David Warner's Colossal Verdict On "Opener" Steve Smith
David Warner announced his retirement from the Test and ODI format of the game and he received a memorable farewell from his home crowd in Sydney during his last Test which was against Pakistan.
Australia won the Test series against Pakistan by 3-0, whitewashing their opponents. David Warner scored 57 off 75 in his last innings and now will feature for Australia only in T20Is as he wants to play in the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Australia have been looking for an opener to replace David Warner for quite a time. Mitchell Marsh is there for the ODI team as he has performed really well as an opener in the ODI World Cup. However, in the red-ball circuit, the Kangaroos had a lot of available options and they wanted to choose the best player to open the innings for Australia in red-ball cricket. They have named Steve Smith as their new opener in Test cricket.
David Warner talked about his teammate Steve Smith as a potential opener in Test cricket during a talk-show. He said, “I think he (Steve Smith) would go well you know. He is probably the best Test batsman in the world. Like he, he just finds a way and I think, I think for Steve it’s probably the challenge of it which I think he probably wants to get into. You know, he has ticked the box off where he is now.”
“He probably just wants to see if he can go out and open and I think the thing for him is he gets to face every ball, that’s possible. So, uh, you know he’s put his hand up for one-day stuff, Twenty20 stuff, and he’s quite clearly a very very good and smart cricket player so he’ll adapt to any situation but yeah he’ll do very very well,” Warner added.
Watch- David Warner Praises Steve Smith After He Was Announced As An Opener For Australia In Test Cricket
Australia have named Steve Smith as their next opening batsman ? and David Warner thinks he will be a huge success ?
Partly thanks to his phenomenal eyesight ?…#ClubPrairieFire pic.twitter.com/uDr6JJM6xe
— Club Prairie Fire (@clubprairiefire) January 10, 2024
David Warner and Steve Smith have played a lot of cricket together, winning two ODI World Cups for Australia in 2015 and 2023 and also clinching the ICC World Test Championship where the latter played a massive role in the victory. Steve Smith has always played a versatile role for Australia and has never disappointed with his performances.
David Warner is Australia’s fifth-highest run-getter in Test cricket whereas Steve Smith is fourth on the list for most runs scored for Australia in Test. David Warner has scored 8786 runs in 205 innings at an average of 44.6 whereas Steve Smith has scored 9514 runs in 187 innings at a sensational average of 58.01. He has smashed 32 hundreds for Australia in Test cricket.
Steve Smith will now be opening the batting for Australia in Test cricket whereas Cameron Green will be batting at No.4 for Australia in the upcoming Test series against West Indies. Cameron Green has been performing really well in first-class cricket at No.4 and as a result, he will play in the same slot for Australia. Matt Renshaw was announced as David Warner’s replacement but now it is clear that he will be traveling as a backup opener for the team.
