Many felt that David Warner could have easily surpassed Mathew Hayden’s tally of 380 and Brian Lara’s 400 to become the highest-individual scorer in a Test innings if Australian skipper Tim Paine had not declared and stopped Warner at 335 against Pakistan in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval.
With the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity being taken away, Warner though has a different record in his sight. A record which will see him overtaking Hayden. Having scored 776 runs in international cricket, he is on the way to become the highest run-scoring opener in an Australian summer.
Hayden tops the list with a total of 1377 runs in 2003-04 which was also aided by his record-breaking innings of 380. Warner still has nine innings left to better the former opener’s numbers.
Another record that the 33-year-old will put his eye on is former England captain Alastair Cook’s average of 127.66, which is the highest by any opener in an Australian summer. Cook had achieved the feat in the 2010-11 tour.
However, Warner might already have put his name in the record given that he now averages 335, courtesy of his unbeaten triple-hundred against Pakistan in the pink-ball Test.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad captain has also helped his cause by playing some blitzkrieg knocks against Pakistan in the Twenty-20 International series before the Test assignments.
Meanwhile, all these seem a distant dream for Warner now who faced the heat of criticism after his dismal show in the Ashes where he averaged a paltry 9.5.
“I’ve had to regroup since coming back from England. I have had to change the way I play. I hit probably 3500 or 4000 balls leading into Brisbane. And then (in Adelaide) I batted two-and-half-hour sessions leading up as well,” Warner was quoted as saying to Fox Sports Austalia.
“It’s not by chance I tightened that (defence) up. I worked really hard on that in the nets. I never doubted myself at all. I am a very confident person,” he added.