If you defend six in a row, one's got your name on it: David Warner

Australia is two down in the three-match Test series against Sri Lanka and the opening batsmen David Warner said that Australia needs to have new tactics to counter the spin challenge offered by the hosts.

Warner said that if the batsmen are keen on defending, one ball will surely get through and thus they will have to use their feet more and need to keep rotating the strike over. “You have to think outside the box,” Warner said on Thursday.

“For me to come out of my crease personally it’s something I don’t normally do but you have to do it in these conditions. If you defend, one’s got your name on it, and one’s going to straighten, which happened the other day. For me it’s about thinking on my feet, using my feet when I’m out here and hopefully putting the bowler off some of his rhythms.”

You’re sitting ducks when you’re facing six balls in a row:

He focused on the importance of rotating the strike and also said that it is hard to bat than in the old days as a few years ago, the ball will turn square only after the first couple of days play which is not the case nowadays. “You’re sitting ducks when you’re facing six balls in a row – one of them is going to have your name on it. Especially when one turns and one doesn’t turn.”

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“It’s a hard game. People don’t realize that you’re going out here day one and day two and it’s turning square, where maybe five or six years ago probably day three, day four was probably when it was turning. So it’s hard from ball one and we really have to work hard and that starts in the nets,” he added.

After surrendering the series, the Australian skipper Steve Smith said that it would be time to rethink on the team selection. “That’s probably the Moneyball theory isn’t it, you pick players for certain conditions,” Warner said, admitting that the batsmen failed to adapt well to the spin-friendly conditions of the subcontinent.

If you don’t adapt, your head’s probably on the line:

“End of the day we’re all professional athletes and you have to adapt to the conditions. If you don’t adapt to them, your head’s probably on the line. For us as cricketers we have to do the best we can in these conditions and adapt as well as we can,” he added.

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“If the selectors don’t think we fit that area of expertise, whether or not we can play in these conditions or play at home, that’s up to them if they want to go down that path and pick the team based on that. [India] is our next subcontinent tour so I think there will be a few assessments made. I think the selectors may have to reassess a few things and whatever they think is necessary, they’ll take the appropriate action I’m pretty sure,” he concluded.