Adelaide: Australia opener David Warner, who registered his maiden century in Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka in Adelaide, Sunday said that Australia’s performance was a blueprint for how they should approach games as they build towards next year’s ICC Men’ T20 World Cup.
Skipper Aaron Finch and Warner, the Australia openers, began in brutal fashion after being put in to bat by Lasith Malinga. They racked up 112 runs in the first ten overs, with both batsmen reaching their half-centuries in 31 or fewer balls.
While the Australia skipper was dismissed after a 36-ball 64, Warner stayed put at the other end, raising the hundred in the final over. Glenn Maxwell, who replaced Finch at the crease, was also at his destructive best, smashing 62 runs off just 28 balls.
The stellar top-order performance powered Australia to 233/2, their highest T20I total at home. The bowlers then backed up the batsmen’s performance with a clinical effort in the chase, restricting Sri Lanka to 99/9 to set up a 134-run victory.
“We ought to come out and try to be positive with the bat. I think the way forward is exactly that,” Warner said, “where we try and set the tone at the top, and then Maxi [Maxwell] coming in and doing what he does. For once, the plan actually came off. That was, all in all, a great batting performance, and obviously, the bowlers finished it off there.”
Speaking about his first T20I innings since his year-long ban, he said, “It means a lot, just to contribute for the team and put us in a great position. It was a good milestone, but a great total on the board. When me and Finchy go about our business one of us will go hard.”
The series against Sri Lanka is Australia’s first home assignment since they hosted the same opposition for a Test series in January this year. For Warner, it was his first international appearance on home soil in one-and-a-half years, and he loved every bit of the support he received.
“It’s always fantastic to get that,’ he said. ‘You sit back and watch on TV, when you watch highlights of other people’s packages and stuff, and you forget how much it actually drives you when you’re out there. We absolutely love the peoples’ support, love the Australian crowd coming out and supporting us, and we always try and put on a show for them. They don’t realise how much of an impact it has for us players when we’re out there. When you’ve got that support behind a team, or you’ve got that support yourself, it’s a massive boost in confidence for us and for the
other people who are out there playing.”
Australia skipper Aaron Finch said, “It was a great start, the way Davey played and how Maxi went from ball one. Our spinners did an amazing job against good players of spin. It was about doing our things really well, we know when you top-order fires we have a lot of power. You always want to start well, and it was a pretty clinical performance.” The second T20I takes place at The Gabba on Wednesday, 30 October.
