England skipper Alastair Cook admits his team can’t afford to let Australian blaster David Warner off the leash if they are to achieve their dream of snaring a fourth straight Ashes series win.
Warner has been in the hottest of form during Australia’s domestic one-day cup series, cracking three centuries to put England on notice ahead of the five-Test series.
The powerful left-hander hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in England earlier this year, with his late-night attack on England’s Joe Root resulting in exile from the first two Tests.
When he was finally welcomed back, Warner averaged just 23 with the bat as Australia crashed to a 3-0 series loss.
Warner turns 27 on Sunday and is entering the prime of his career.
If he can inspire Australia to Ashes victory, it would be the making of him.
And he definitely has the potential.
Against India last year, Warner cracked 180 off just 159 balls to lift Australia to an innings triumph at the WACA Ground.
India simply had no answers, but Cook feels they are better placed after finding some weaknesses in Warner’s game during the recent series in England.
“He’s a dangerous batter, because he obviously looks to attack from ball one,” Cook said.
“If he gets going, he scores very quickly.
“I think one of the main dangers of batters like that is they can score so quickly they can take games away from you within a session, a session-and-a-half, two sessions.
“He is a danger and it’s always nice to see the back of him.
“We’ve got some pretty good plans to him, as you saw in those Test matches where we played.
“He is a good player with a good record and we’ve got to make sure he doesn’t have those days.”
Star England all-rounder Kevin Pietersen is due to link up with the squad on Sunday after being given compassionate leave following the recent death of a friend.
England are favourites to win a fourth straight Ashes series, but Australia are quietly confident of causing an upset.
Skipper Michael Clarke is still under an injury cloud due to his chronic back problem but Australia’s medical team are confident he’ll be fit to play in the first Test, starting in Brisbane on November 21.