“It’s probably highly unlikely I’m going to make Bangladesh”
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Australia opener David Warner has revealed that he is unlikely to make an appearance in the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh after fracturing his thumb.
Warner sustained the injury when he was struck by the very first ball he faced from England pace bowler Steven Finn during the second ODI at Lord’s. As a result, the 28-year-old is likely to be out of action for the next six weeks.
Warner admitted that he knew he was in trouble when the ball from Finn struck him in the same place he had been hit when facing countryman Mitchell Johnson in the nets prior to an ODI against South Africa last summer.
“I knew pretty much straight away when I got hit that it was the same one and it was quite painful,” Warner said. “Look I know from last time when it was actually just a minor fracture, it was a minimum of three weeks before I could pick up a bat. You never want to miss a Test match. I never do want to miss a Test match but it’s probably highly unlikely I’m going to make Bangladesh.
“At the moment it’s six weeks with the thumb so that’s before I can pick up a bat. So I think that pretty much sums up what I can and can’t do. So for me it’s about trying to target what’s after that and sit down with obviously the coach and the selectors and see what I have to do. I wanted to go on with the form to try and put some big scores on the board in this one-day tournament and now I’m going to miss the rest of this and quite possibly the Test series.
“I’m gutted. I’m not happy about that but I’ll get a bit of a break now and have got six to eight weeks off before we have to come back and assemble for the first-class game [for New South Wales] in Adelaide so it’s now time to get back as soon as possible and then I can work on my fitness for longevity for the next few years.”
With Warner having joined the list of Australia’s walking wounded and his Test partner Chris Rogers having retired from international cricket after the recently concluded Ashes series, the Australian selectors are going to have to select a brand new opening pair, while also deciding who will take over Warner’s duties as vice-captain.
“It’d be nice if I can have a little bit of a chat to whoever is there,” Warner said. “But with the experience [of] Steve Smith, who has been over there and a couple of other lads they can actually learn from them. I’m pretty sure the guys that are coming in, guys from Australia A they’ve just played in India and know what the experiences are like, so whoever comes in I’m sure will do a great job and do whatever they can to help the team win.”