Warner overcomes English struggles despite 'sore' hand

Despite David Warner being forced to leave his "battered" left hand in a bucket of ice for hours after a long-awaited away Ashes half-century, the veteran opener believes an even bigger score is around the corner.

Warner put his struggles in England to one side to successfully see off the new ball after Australia were inserted under heavy cloud cover on Wednesday morning, shifting pressure back onto England in scoring his fastest Test fifty in five-and-a-half years.

It came amid a revelation the 36-year-old was batting through significant pain in his hand which has received multiple knocks since arriving in the United Kingdom for what he has since confirmed will be his final overseas Test tour.

"It’s copped a battering the last two games and in the nets, so it’s little bit sore at the moment," Warner told reporters after his 88-ball 66 helped Australia post 5-339 on day one of the second Test.

"(There is a) bit of a bruise but I’ll just see how we go after the game and I think we’ll examine it then. At the moment it’s quite tender."

Warner insisted he was never in doubt to play this week and did not suggest he is in doubt for the rest of the series.

"Initially it was more in the palm, I've got a hot-spot where my palm is and every time the ball hits the bat, it just jars," he said.

"Then today I got hit in the knuckle again where Mohammad Shami hit me in that World Test Championship (final earlier this month).

"Our batting coach got me in the nets two days ago, so it's a bit sore. But I've had my hand in an ice bucket all afternoon, so we'll assess it after the game."

Warner pushed through the pain to pass fifty on English soil for just the second time in his last 13 innings, profiting from being dropped on 20 as he underpinned Australia's strong start in a 73-run opening stand with Usman Khawaja.

The left-hander raised his bat after only 66 balls, having not gotten there that quickly since the 2017-18 Boxing Day Test, making good on his vow to bat more aggressively on this Ashes tour than he did four years ago.

"Back then it was (a case of) being told a few different things, being told to defend and look to let those balls in the areas go … naturally I think I got in positions too front-on (in 2019)," said Warner.

"Now when I'm looking to score my defence takes care of itself. Naturally those balls will go to mid-on if I'm defending.

"Back then I was looking to defend when I first got out there, I wasn't actually looking to score.

"When I'm at my best, I'm looking to score all the time and then I get into better positions to defend. Then if you play and miss you're happy. From my perspective I'm happy to nick off if I'm in a position to score."

Image Id: 778C3DAB379249FCB5D4800AE9C43076 Image Caption: Warner was involved in stopping ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters from damaging the Lord’s pitch early on day one // Getty

That played out when Warner did in fact "nick off" when Ollie Pope dropped him at fourth slip after his Ashes nemesis Stuart Broad induced an edge.

Broad used the Lord's slope to nip the ball away from his familiar angle around the wicket, but Warner did try a new tactic against the right-armer who has dismissed him 15 times in Tests, more than any other bowler.

The Australian dropped down to one knee to paddle sweep him in his third over of the morning, a shot he later repeated against Ollie Robinson.

They were the kind of strokes he more commonly trots out in the Indian Premier League.

"I'd been practicing in the nets and in white-ball (cricket) I play it quite a bit," said Warner, who was eventually bowled by newcomer Josh Tongue with an in-swinger.

"I always said in the back of my mind, if they set a field where the guy was square on the (leg-side) boundary and they're just trying to hit their lengths, I'd play it. I did that.

"The second one was more of a length thing. I felt the line he was bowling, if he bowled it fractionally a bit shorter I could go with it and play that shot.

"It is risky but in my mind I'm trying to put them off their line and length."

Image Id: EED173EBF09D4193A836B0E625115BAD Image Caption: Warner plays an audacious sweep on day one at Lord’s // Getty

The Australian camp had been insistent Warner remains in good touch, but the hard numbers showed that he had passed fifty just once in his previous 19 Test innings coming into this Test.

His innings was timely given Australia were set to re-select their touring party at the conclusion of this Test, though Warner insists his performances in the first two matches of their six-Test tour had encouraged him.

He fought through a testing new-ball spell on the first day of the World Test Championship final on an up-and-down Oval surface to score 43 before being caught down the leg-side, before a second-innings hand of 36 off 57 against England at Edgbaston.

"I've felt in total control the last six to eight months with where my game is. I'm moving into the ball, my feet are moving," said Warner, who has confirmed his intention to retire following next home summer's New Year's Test.

"I've put in the hard work. I've really worked my backside off to have that trigger movement, to access the ball, or to be brave and come down into the line of the ball and try and put the bowlers off their line and lengths.

"I felt like I was onto something special in the World Test Championship final. And then last game, same thing.

"I feel like everything I'm putting in in the nets is actually coming out there in the middle. I'm excited by it and I think if I can keep getting myself in and keep that momentum going with my feet, a big one could be around the corner."

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Wednesday June 28-Sunday July 2, Lord’s

Third Test: Thursday July 6-Monday July 10, Headingley

Fourth Test: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood