Cricket World Cup: Warner Expects Pace Duo Wood and Archer to Struggle on Slower Caribbean Pitches
As the Australia national team prepares to face England in their second match of the T20 World Cup in Barbados this Sunday, veteran opener David Warner has predicted a different challenge for the visitors’ formidable pace duo of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer.
The two quick bowlers were instrumental in England’s Ashes triumph over Australia last year, with Wood’s hostile pace and Archer’s express speed causing major problems for the Australians. However, Warner believes the slower, lower pitches of the Caribbean will negate their primary weapon – raw, unrelenting pace.
“You just have to use their pace,” Warner said. “In Test cricket, they set different fields, different balls. But in T20 cricket, you only have to get half an edge on it and it can go. So there’s a fair difference.”
Warner, who hit a steady 56 off 51 balls to guide Australia to victory in their opening match against Oman, expects the variable bounce on the slower surfaces to be a key factor.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket over here,” he explained. “You are expecting it to be low rather than bounce, unless it is real short. The variation in bounce is what surprises you.”
The 37-year-old opener, who is likely playing in his final international tournament, dismissed the criticism he has faced following a disappointing IPL campaign.
“It [the criticism] doesn’t fuel me. It’s in one ear, out the other,” he said. “I don’t understand why it’s all about myself. There are 11 players in the team. I don’t get it.”
Sunday’s clash between the arch-rivals has taken on added significance after England’s washout against Scotland. A loss for the defending champions would leave their qualification hopes hanging by a thread, potentially setting up a net run-rate shootout with Scotland for the second spot in the group.
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