Warner's Stellar Run Scoring Exploits Make Him One of Australia's Greatest Test Openers

Warner added another feather to his already glittering career with an unbeaten 335-run knock against Pakistan in the Day-Night Adelaide Test. The triple ton made him only the third Australian opener after Matthew Hayden (380) and Mark Taylor (334) to have scored a triple ton in Tests.

It was somewhere back in 2010, when Australia were looking for the apt replacement for their highly successful opening pair of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer who were an integral part of their power packed batting lineup during their extended period of dominance in the late 90s and 2000s. With the highly consistent Simon Katich also in his 30s, the Aussies looked for someone who had the pedigree to take up the daunting challenge of opening the innings in red ball cricket. In this tricky period of transition, Australia were fortunate enough to have a stable opening pair in Simon Katich and Shane Watson who were quite successful for two odd seasons. The 'Baggy Greens' were also well served up the order by the ever dependable Phil Jacques and the talented but inconsistent Philip Hughes. In the meantime, there was a diminutive lad from New South Wales who had built a strong case for his selection in the T20 team after his belligerent exploits with the willow in the domestic Big Bash league and the high profile Indian Premier League. While he had built his credentials as a swashbuckling stroke-maker in Australia's limited over format courtesy some electrifying match winning knocks, he wasn't tested well enough at all at the first class level as he was merely just 11 games old across all formats. The diminutive southpaw who was initially tagged as a T20 power hitter went to stake his claim as one of the most lethal openers in Test cricket was none other than David Warner. After cementing his place in the limited overs format, Warner defied critics to emerge as one of Australia's most successful opening batsmen in the longer format of the game too. Ever since making his Test debut nine seasons ago against trans-tasman rivals New Zealand, David Warner has not looked back and has been the lynch-pin of Australia's Test batting unit along with the ever consistent Steve Smith. Warner who has been Australia's seasoned opener for the last decade, has been a thorn in the flesh of opposition. The southpaw may have not enjoyed the luxury of having an equally lethal partner in Langer or a Slater at the other end, but was lucky enough to stitch some handy opening partnerships with Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan and at present; Joe Burns to spearhead Australia's opening salvo in Test cricket over the last 10 years. On the cusp of 7000 Test runs at a staggering  average of nearly 50, laced with 23 tons, Warner has filled in the massive shoes of his illustrious predecessors and former Aussie opening greats - Bill Lawry, Bobby Simpson, Geoff Marsh, David Boon, Mark Taylor, Micheal Slater, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer. An entertainer for the crowds and an outright match winner with his power packed stroke-play, David Warner is special and unique in many ways. In test cricket, he is not merely a bludgeoner like his ODI avatar who belts attacks with utter disdain, but can also hold guard by playing the run grafter's role to perfection by occupying the crease for long and score some match winning tons. For the record, Warner's run tally of 6908 is third only to Matthew Hayden (8625 runs) and Mark Taylor (7525 runs) in the list of most runs as Australian opener. Among all the Australian Test openers, Warner's 23 tons stand second only to the great Matthew Hayden's record 30 centuries. Given the fearless brand of batting he exhibits, Warner's  phenomenal 73.9 Test strike rate is best among Australian openers to have scored over 2000 runs. Matthew Hayden, who in his own merit was a much-feared opener comes in a distant second with 60-odd strike rate. Warner's outstanding Test Average of 49.32 is fourth best among Australian Test openers to have scored at least 2500 runs. It is a testament to his consistency in scoring runs across a considerable time period and that too while opening the innings. Another fascinating element about Warner's batting is his conversion from 50s to 100s. After Australia's greatest Test opener Matthew Hayden, Warner has the best 50-100 conversion. Out of the 53 times he has gone past the 50-run mark in Tests, he has gone on to convert 23 of those into tons. At the very pinnacle of his game, Warner had a major setback after being banned by the ICC for over his involvement in the Sandpaper ball tampering controversy in the Capetown Test against South Africa. After serving his forced on 12-month hiatus away from the game, known for his tremendous hunger and determination, Warner made a stellar comeback into international cricket with a spectacular showing with the willow in the 2019 ICC World Cup. He was completely out of sorts with the willow in the 2019 Ashes series but made major amends to emerge as the highest run scorer against Pakistan. Warner added another feather to his already glittering career with an unbeaten 335-run knock against Pakistan in the Day-Night Adelaide Test. The triple ton made him only the third Australian opener after Matthew Hayden (380) and Mark Taylor (334) to have scored a triple ton in Tests. Since the turn of the new millennium, Warner stands tall besides Alastair Cook, Graeme Smith and Virender Sehwag as one of the modern-era opening greats. Over the last decade, Warner is only second behind the English great Alastair Cook in terms of racking up the most runs and tons as a Test opener. Over the last five-odd seasons, where Test playing nations have struggled to find stable openers, Warner has been a rare exception along with Murali Vijay, Azhar Ali, Tom Latham and Dimuth Karunaratne. Given his run scoring prowess, David Warner has cemented his place as one of Australia's greatest openers in red ball cricket. Aged 33, with another 3-4 years of solid cricket left in him, it is now to be seen if he can stake a place among the all time batting greats of Test cricket.