David Warner was dismissed cheaply in both of Australia's T20 World Cup warm-up matches and made just 14 in their opening Group 1 fixture against South Africa; watch Australia vs Sri Lanka live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.30pm on Thursday
Wednesday 27 October 2021 15:37, UK
Australia opener David Warner has brushed off concerns about his lean run of form going into Thursday's T20 World Cup clash against Sri Lanka.
The 35-year-old was dismissed for 0 and 1 during his side's warm-up matches before making just 14 in their tournament opener against South Africa last weekend.
Warner's low scores came off the back of a difficult finish to the IPL, where he was left out of the Sunrisers Hyderabad side as they finished bottom of the table - but the left-hander says he is unconcerned.
"People talking about my form is quite funny," said Warner. "I laugh at the matter because [at the] end of the day, I've hardly played any cricket.
"Then was the opportunity with the IPL, for example. I had two games and then basically wanted to give all the other youngsters a crack and whatnot. So from my perspective, that's fine.
"And in warm-up games, they are warm-up games for a reason. The other day was a sort of getting my benchmark back as to where I should be.
"Obviously some dismissals are out of your control, which generally happens in cricket. We're practising as much as we can to get out there and perform.
"You've got to try to make the most of training. At the moment, I'm training on some synthetic wickets and polished concrete to get timing and rhythm and moving my feet. So that's helping me."
Warner, who has amassed 2,279 runs in T20I cricket since his debut in 2009, says he is unfazed by the spin-friendly conditions in the United Arab Emirates.
Sri Lanka are likely to deploy several spinners when the teams meet in Dubai, live on Sky Sports Cricket, with Maheesh Theekshana, who missed their five-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Sunday, a candidate to come into the side.
"I like the word mystery spinner, because there's everyone," added Warner. "(Sunil) Narine's a mystery spinner, Ajantha Mendis as well. He was a mystery spinner.
"You get to face these guys - Rashid Khan, same thing. You know, these guys are just skilful. I wouldn't call them mystery spinners.
"It's just you've got to obviously watch their hand closely. Under lights, that's a difficult thing to do.
"You don't get to see the seam. So from a batter's perspective, it's about applying pressure like you normally do to any bowler."
Watch the T20 World Cup live on Sky between now and November 14.
