01:00
Ashes won’t force Steven Smith to miss T20 World Cup – Andrew McDonald
David Warner has conceded that he rushed back too soon during the Test series against India following the groin injury he suffered during the ODIs. Warner made himself available for the last two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane when he was clearly significantly hampered by the injury and it has since meant another lengthy rehab.
Speaking on commentary last week, Warner said how he expected to feel the effects of the injury for up to nine months but will make his return to action this week for New South Wales – firstly in the one-day competition before the Sheffield Shield against South Australia – and is confident he won’t do any further damage.
“I made the call to play those Test matches, felt like I needed to be out there and help the guys,” he told reporters at Sydney airport before flying to Adelaide. “Looking back in hindsight I probably wouldn’t have done that, where I am with the injury it put me back a little bit.
“If I’m thinking about myself I probably would have said no, but I did what I felt was best for the team and me being out there opening the batting was I felt the best thing for the team.”
Warner added that the injury, which involved a tear in the abdomen plus two in his groin, was “horrible” and that he’d “never felt anything like it” but the stint on the sidelines has allowed him to spend time with the family – although even what he was able to do with his children was restricted by the injury – and given him the chance to reflect on where his career stands.
Australia won’t have any more Test cricket until late in the year, unless England win the final Test against India to allow them to sneak a World Test Championship final berth, but Warner still faces a busy period of white-ball action following this spell in domestic cricket for New South Wales.
David Warner on his injury: ‘Never felt anything like it’ © Getty Images
He will head to the IPL in early April and after that Australia are scheduled for a white-ball tour of West Indies although this has yet to be confirmed. Warner recently secured a deal for the Hundred in England, which runs for a month from mid-July, then Australia are set to have tours of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup in India in October which follows directly into the next home summer that includes a five-Test Ashes series.
Warner has previously spoken about potentially reevaluating his workload around the three formats but currently has his sights set on the 2023 50-over World Cup in India which follows back-to-back T20 World Cups – the second of which will be hosted in Australia in 2022 – and is eager to play as much Test cricket as possible.
“I’m not thinking about the end date at all, for me it’s about the 2023 World Cup,” he said. “We’ve got a good foundation with the white-ball team, we’ve got a good opportunity to play that and win in India. The core of the team with the age group it will probably be the last for a few of us. Then obviously it’s a given that you have to call it time unless you are going to play to 41 – it’s time for the new guys to come through.
“From a Test cricket point of view I’d love to play as long as I can. We’ve got a lot of cricket coming up in that context after this year so for me it’s about staying fit and healthy and trying to manage my family time with cricket.”
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo