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File photo of David Warner© AFP
Australia started the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign with two losses but then as the tournament progressed, the Pat Cummins-led Australia gathered pace. So much so, that in the biggest match of them all – the final against hosts India in Ahmedabad – Australia brought out their A+ game to trump the Rohit Sharma-led side. The Indian cricket team was considered the favorites after a 10-match winning streak but Australia turned up the heat and won their sixth Cricket World Cup title.
After the Cricket World Cup final, Australia have been receiving much hate on social media. One such user recently directed one such statement on X to David Warner, saying: “@davidwarner31 In past australian players were very arrogant but after winning this world cup they will become more arrogant”
The ace opener shut him down in style saying: “did you meet some of the players or is this just a keyboard opportunity to vent.”
ICC Hall of Famer and former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting feels that batter Cameron Bancroft is leading the race to succeed David Warner and Usman Khawaja at the top of Australia’s Test batting.
Earlier, this year, Warner announced that he plans to bring down the curtains to his illustrious Test career following the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) Test against Pakistan next year. As he prepares for the final phase of his career in white clothing, there are a host of openers eyeing his place in the Australian team.
While Marcus Harris and Matthew Renshaw have been used as reserve batters in recent tours to India and England, Ponting thinks Bancroft has jumped to the top of the pecking order on the back of some sensational form at domestic level in Australia over the last few years.
The 31-year-old scored four centuries and made more runs than any other player during the 2022/23 summer in Australia’s domestic Sheffield Shield competition and is once again among the top run-scorers this season.
In 11 matches, Bancroft scored 945 runs at an average of 59.06, with four centuries and a fifty to emerge as the top run-getter.
In his first-class career, Bancroft has made 9,389 runs at an average of 39.12, with 25 centuries and 33 fifties in 261 innings. His best score is 228*.
The batter’s numbers in Australian whites are not really great, as in 10 Tests, he has made 446 runs at an average of 26.23, with just three fifties in 18 innings. His best score is 82*.
While Bancroft has not represented Australia since 2019, Ponting expects the in-form right-hander will be given another chance at the international level.
“If you look at those three guys, I think it is quite clear that Bancroft is the one that has got the runs on the board and I would not be surprised if they (selectors) go that way,” Ponting told Australian radio station SEN on Thursday as quoted by ICC.
With ANI inputs
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