Candice Warner has challenged who Australia’s better options are amid claims husband David is under pressure to keep his Test spot for the entirety of the Ashes series.
Warner is reportedly set to be selected in a squad — to be named as early as Wednesday — for the Test Championship final and the first three Tests of the Ashes series.
However there have been suggestions he will need to perform early or risk losing his spot, as concerns linger over his form in India earlier this year, and the last Ashes in the UK.
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Appearing as a regular panellist on Fox Sports’ The Back Page on Tuesday night, Warner said she was surprised David had been “singled out” in reports highlighting that he would be included in the squad.
She then politely bristled when it was put to her by Fox League commentator Dan Ginnane that he needed to start the campaign well.
Warner: “Absolutely he does. But so does the whole team.”
Ginnane replied: “I understand, but he needs to start well, Candice.”
Warner’s response was straightforward: “Why?”
When Ginnane explained Warner’s poor returns in England in the past as well as his struggles for form in the most recent summer on home soil, Warner said: “I get all that.”
But, she said: “If Dave doesn’t perform in that first Test, who do they bring in that’s better?”
Ginnane said he had no answer and clarified that he wasn’t calling for Warner to be dropped.
Warner conceded: “His form wasn’t great that last Ashes. Stuart Broad had his number I think ten times. So it didn’t look good for him. And he hasn’t performed well over there in the past.
“But who do you put in?”
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Asked about David’s mental approach to the game and the media, Warner replied: “Mentally he is fine. You never have to worry about where he’s at mentally. I think going to a country where you haven’t performed before there’s always going to be anxiety, and just thinking about Broad.
“I’m sure England won’t make the same mistake as they made out here, leaving Broad out of the first Test. I think that was a huge mistake.
“It’ll be interesting to see them match up and the way England go about their cricket – if they’re as attacking as they have been playing.”
Ginnane called the first Test a “great chance for Dave and all of them”, since the Aussies won’t be facing the likes of Broad and Anderson, while Warner pointed out that the Aussies’ preferred Kookaburra will be in use as opposed to the Dukes ball.
