SA vs AUS 2018: David Warner is Confident of Repeating his Heroics of 2014 Tour
Published - 23 Feb 2018, 04:27 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:49 PM
Australia won the Trans-Tasman T20 Tri Series and enjoyed an unbeaten run throughout the series under the captaincy of David Warner.
Warner was appointed as the stand-in captain as their regular captain Steven Smith took a break to prepare for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
The Australian team has had a hard grueling 2017-18 season having won against their toughest and fiercest competition England in the Ashes.
However, after regaining the Urn, the Aussies had a horrible ODI series which the touring England side won 4-1.
The Australian team has been in a transition phase for some time now especially in the limited overs format.
Warner has completely transformed the T20 squad and has led his team to victory over New Zealand and England.
Warner’s leadership skills in the shortest format have been exceptional as he also led his IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad to glory in 2016.
Having wrapped up the limited overs series, the next assignment for Australia is the upcoming tour of South Africa. Australia and South Africa have always produced some scintillating cricket over the years.
Warner says that he is confident for the upcoming series as the contest begins in Durban next Thursday. Warner said:
“They’re a world-class outfit and have got bowlers who bowl 140kph. They’ve got Vern (Philander) who hits the money every time and if the conditions are in his favour, he’s going to be tough work.”
“You know Morne (Morkel) is going to come into your ribs. It’s exciting, just thinking about it now sends shivers down my spine. I just want to get over there and get into it.”
Warner was named the player of the series for scoring 543 runs and three centuries in just six innings on the 2014 tour of the Rainbow nation.
Warner finished the tour with twin hundreds in Cape Town as the tourists clinched the series 2-1 and regained the world No.1 Test team ranking.
Warner has been struggling with the bat but feels he can repeat the previous tour’s performance. He said:
“I’ve really got to embrace it again and still stay hungry for those runs. It’s a couple of years on. They’re going to be smarter and work out where to bowl to me from the series that they did at home (in 2016). They’re going to challenge me in areas where I’ve been getting out. I’m prepared for what they bring and I’ve just got to make sure I’m in the right mental state and I play each ball on its merit.”
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