Australia captain Pat Cummins did not rule out dropping David Warner for the fourth Ashes Test after the opener's struggles against Stuart Broad continued at Headingley.
Warner is nearing the end of his Test cricket career, having announced his intention to retire in January after a final home game against Pakistan in Sydney. However, he may not get the opportunity to retire on his own terms.
The 36-year-old batsman was dismissed for just one and four runs in England's three-wicket victory in the third Test, with his long-time rival Broad taking him out both times.
Warner has an average of 23.50 in the series with only one half-century, and having been dismissed 17 times by Broad throughout his career, Australia may find themselves considering a difficult choice in the nine-day gap before the battle resumes at Emirates Old Trafford.
Mitch Marsh stepped in for the injured Cameron Green and made a significant impact, scoring a powerful century in the first innings and taking two wickets. However, both all-rounders are expected to be fit for the next Test.
Asked if Warner could be sacrificed to fit them both in, Cummins said: “We’ll keep all our options open. We’ve got nine or 10 days now, so we’ll take a deep breath.
“We’ll go away for a few days but everyone comes back into it. Greeny should be fit for Manchester, we should have a full roster. So we’ll have a look at the wicket, have a chat and work out the best XI.”
While there was precious little for for Warner to cling on to in those words, Cummins seemed more robust when the idea of Marsh dropping out again was raised.
“It’s possible, but it was a pretty impressive week wasn’t it?”
For Cummins, seeing England chase down 251 to get back in the series at 2-1 down with two to play was a rare setback in a summer of successes.
He captained his team to victory in the World Test Championship against India last month, played the innings that helped them win at Edgbaston, and then won again at Lord's.
All three games against England have been see-saw affairs, with chances for both sides to come through and tight finishes across the board.
“It seems like a series where each session swings in one team’s favour and then the next session the other team picks it up. I was just chatting to Stokesy, saying I wouldn’t mind a stress-free one.
“It’s not my preference but they’ve been great viewing. It’s just tense out there. I actually really enjoy being out there and feeling you’ve got some kind of control of the situation when you’re in the middle of it. It’s 100 times worse when you’re in the changing room and you wish you could do something about it but you can’t.
“I’ll have another look at it and see if there’s anything we might do differently, but it felt like we made some decent decisions out there.”
