Australia opener David Warner’s social media antics continued unabated but this time the destructive southpaw posted a message saying he is bored of shadow batting in his backyard and cannot wait to get back on the field playing competitive cricket.
“Ok, I am over it now, when can we start again please. Bored of shadow batting in the backyard!!” Warner said in an Instagram post with a video of him shadow practising with the Australia limited overs jersey on.
The video was originally uploaded on Warner’s TikTok page, a social media platform that the fiery Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper has taken by storm since the time cricket activities were frozen in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently put forward protocols that will have to be followed when cricketing action resumes.
Meanwhile, Australia pacer Pat Cummins has said his team is far better prepared to face Team India than last time when Virat Kohli and men travel Down Under later in the year.
India, under Kohli in the 2018/19 series, became the first Asian side to beat Australia in a Test series in their own den. The series featured stellar performances from batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli and the pace battery featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma.
“I think we’ll be ready for them this time,” Cummins told Cricket Australia’s digital content team.
Australia were without the services of Steve Smith and Warner in the last series as both were serving their respective bans for their involvement in the Sandpaper Gate controversy. The duo would, in all likelihood, be part of the series against India, thus providing strength to the batting unit of Australia.
“Everyone’s a little more experienced this time because obviously we’ve got a couple of class batters back in the side and someone like Marnus (Labuschagne) has played a bit more and done brilliantly,” Cummins said.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought the entire world to a standstill and the sporting arena is no exception. Most of the high profile tournaments including the Tokyo Olympics 2020 stand postponed.
Even the biggest cricketing spectacle on the planet, the Indian Premier League (IPL), stands suspended indefinitely owing to the coronavirus pandemic. Had the IPL gone ahead as originally planned, all these cricketers would have been part of the cash-rich league.
The virus has already infected over 5 million people around the world while claiming over three lakh lives. There is still no sure shot treatment of the disease and social-distancing, self-isolation and maintenance of basic hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons of protecting oneself from contracting the infection.
(With inputs from IANS)