Warner was already in a precarious position going into the India series since he had only played one notable inning during Australia’s otherwise triumphant home season against the visiting West Indies and South Africa. Warner scored a spectacular double-century in the Christmas Day Test, his 100th for Australia, which had been the one highlight of an otherwise lacklustre couple of series.
Warner’s already questionable batting average in India, which now stands at 21.78 after 10 games, has not improved as a result of the first two Tests. Given that Australia’s hopes in both Tests were destroyed by spectacular batting collapses, simply one, 10 or 15 in his first three innings could have been enough for selectors to think about dropping the seasoned opener.
Taylor stated that with an Ashes tour to England in the near future, it was time for selectors to decide whether to stick with Warner now to help strengthen the top of the batting order before the Ashes start, or to move on from him in order to take advantage of potentially more favourable pitches in England.
“Is it time to start thinking about the future? You don’t normally do it around Ashes time, normally you would do it post-Ashes,” Mark Taylor said.
“Normally you take a very settled side to England, with maybe one batter you think is going to be your future, and that’s the side you pick. We’re not quite there at the moment and they’re not sure which way they are going to go. “
“So he has really thrown the ball over to (selectors) George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide, (and captain) Pat Cummins, the selectors to say ‘OK what do you want to do?’. To me, the selectors have got to make a decision.
“Whether they take David Warner and one of probably Bancroft or Renshaw to England, and Dave would be the first opener picked. Or they make a decision now and say righto, we’re going to take the two younger guys… we’re going to make a change right now.
“That’s the decision they’ve got to make. Dave has said, ‘OK, over to you, I am available, I want to play’. “
Due to his team-best performance at home, Travis Head, who was benched for the first Test in India but was successfully recalled for the second, is still guaranteed a spot. Meanwhile, players like Matthew Renshaw and Peter Handscombe have also benefited from Test recalls this summer.
Taylor claimed that it was obvious that Warner wanted to continue playing, putting the decision fully in the hands of the Australian selection committee. Dave has publicly stated his desire to continue playing until 2024, so Taylor said he plans to play in Australia next summer and travel to England later this year.