David Warner has made an unhappy return to the Test arena, dismissed for just five playing a rash shot that triggered criticism from several cricket legends.
After making a positive start Warner slashed at a wide delivery from Mohammed Siraj and was comfortably caught in the slips by Cheteshwar Pujara.
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Warner was rushed back into the side with Australia's series against India delicately poised at 1-1 with two Tests to play.
He got the nod to open the batting with debutant Will Pucovski despite concerns that he had not fully recovered from a groin injury he picked up in the second one-day international against India on November 29.
Even in his short-lived innings there was evidence that Warner was struggling with the injury as he attempted to scurry through for a quick single in the second over of the day.
Warner's game is built on aggressive running between the wickets, leading legendary former Australian batsman Mark Waugh to speculate that his inability to get up and down the wicket in his usual way may have impacted his shot selection.
"That's just a loose shot. That's not a shot you want to be playing in the first 20 minutes of a Test match," Waugh said in commentary for Fox Cricket.
"You're driving on the up, it's not there to drive and it's wide as well and you're throwing your hands at it. Even if his groin was okay, he would have had to take an almighty step to get even close to that delivery.
"Just an impatient shot really and maybe trying to get runs on the board quickly."
Warner plays his best cricket when he is looking to score runs and his return to the side had been preceded by plenty of talk that Australia's top order had been bogged down without him in the opening two Tests of the series.
Yet both Waugh and Kerry O'Keeffe pointed out that Warner often uses the first half an hour of his innings to sum up the pitch and the bowlers before putting his foot down, which he failed to do this morning.
"He bats with his hands but he always has a look. He didn't seem to be looking that much today," O'Keeffe said on Fox Cricket.
"The red flag went up when he took that single, the last 10 metres he really laboured and he's far less than 100 percent fit.
"A lot of his utterings going into this Test match was that, 'I'm going to change the tempo of this innings' and in trying to do that he's played an errant shot."
Waugh added that Warner's impatient stay at the crease had the hallmarks of white ball cricket and didn't take into account the added challenges of starting a Test match innings.
"It's a different rhythm, Test match cricket to white ball cricket," Waugh said.
"You've got to bat time. It's good to be aggressive but an aggressive leave could be good body language as well. That sort of shot is a T20 shot actually where you're throwing your hands at a wide delivery that is nowhere near a half-volley.
"There is always going to be a bit more movement a couple of hours on a fresh pitch. He'll look back at that dismissal and say, 'I just should have let it go', regardless of how that groin is.
"It's a high-risk shot and he's paid a heavy price early on."
from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/cricket/david-warner-dismissal-criticised-kerry-okeeffe-mark-waugh/1c4007cb-3b5a-4859-af8d-054c5bb36f1c
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