Australia's top four have disappointed massively, admits David Warner
David Warner has admitted that he was disappointed with the team's top-order in the ODI series against South Africa after getting a 3-0 beating away from home. Since their 10-wicket drubbing of India in Mumbai, the men in yellow have lost five ODIs on the bounce, two from India and three in SA.
The Kangaroos, who had a phenomenal run at home both in Test and T20Is lately, find themselves in a precariously delicate situation heading into their oddly-timed limited-overs series against New Zealand. Since their 10-wicket drubbing of India at Mumbai on January 14, the men in yellow have lost five ODIs on the bounce. Admittedly, ODIs may not be the flavour of the season, but their ODI showdown against their Tasman neighbours arrives at the confluence of contrasting results. Where New Zealand whitewashed India 3-0, Australia lost by a similar margin on their trip to South Africa.
Australia's top-four consists of skipper Aaron Finch, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne & David Warner himself. While Finch has had a few fair outings so far, Smith & Labuschagne have been unable to replicate their golden form from 2019. David Warner said that the team needs to strike a balance, not just at the top but in the middle-order too so that the pressure is not always on the opener. David Warner also pointed out that while it was essential for one of the top-four batsmen to stay till the end, it was impossible for him to do it all the time.
"The only thing I can put it [the losing streak] down to is the top four not scoring the bulk of the runs. You can't do it all the time but at least one of us (has to) go on and be there at the end. It is disappointing but at the end of the day we've got to keep trying to get better at that, try to find a balance with our batting through the middle as well," said David Warner as quoted by Cricbuuzz.
Marnus Labuschagne was proud to have put on a show for his extended South African family, even though he was unable to cap his day with victory for his adopted nation, as his maiden limited-overs century fell short of securing a consolation victory for Australia in the third ODI at Potchefstroom. Labuschagne made a run-a-ball 108 out of Australia's 254 for 7, as he first helped his side recover from a ropey 55 for 3 after 15 overs. David Warner was heavily impressed by the innings but also lambasted on Australia’s last 10 ODI games against South Africa.
"Marnus showed that application the other day in Potch. Obviously, it was a big occasion for him going back home for the first time and playing in his home town It was awesome to see him get that hundred but if you look back at the last 10 one-day games against South Africa, we've won one,” he added.