Warner braces for spin challenge in Sri Lanka..

Despite being one of the senior members in the Test side, with 51 appearances in the longest format of the game to boot, Australian opener David Warner, hasn’t played a single Test in Sri Lanka. But that doesn’t deter the 29-year-old, who believes he knows a thing or two about the pitches in the island nation, as his side slowly gears up for the three-match Test series in July.

Only four members – Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh and Peter Siddle – from the 14-member squad that played in Australia’s victorious Test series campaign against New Zealand earlier this year, have experienced Test cricket in the island nation. James Pattinson was in the squad that toured Sri Lanka in 2011 but he didn’t get a game.

“I was over there when Shaun Marsh made his debut hundred (in September 2011),” Warner told cricket.com.au on Wednesday (May 4). “I’ve seen first-hand how the wickets are there. I know Pallekele is a nice batting wicket with a bit of late turn in the innings. Galle is traditionally a slow turner and in Colombo it’s a very nice batting track. For us, as a batting group, it’s about batting long periods and building partnerships and putting on good totals to make sure that our bowlers are in play come the second innings, whether it’s through reverse (swing) or spin.” Two of Australia’s recent tours to the sub-continent ended in disaster as they lost 4-0 to India in 2013 and then 2-0 to Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in 2014. Despite having a career strike rate of 76.92 in the format, Warner saw it come down to 50 in India three years ago. It was slightly better in the UAE, where he was scoring at a rate just under 60.

Warner reasoned that the batsmen can tend to get bogged down in sub-continental conditions and that attacking the spinners could end up working in the batting side’s favour. “Sometimes we can get caught being too defensive and forget about attacking a little bit,” he said. “Sometimes that can work in your favour if you attack a little bit more the bowler might have to take out a short leg or an extra slip and put it somewhere else. “We’ve got to be prepared to bat time and battle the demons of whether the ball can actually turn as much as you think. For us it’s our bat in front our pads and actually using our feet a bit more and looking to score. We’re going to have to come up with a game plan to suit those conditions and you’ve got to stick to your game plan.” Whether his teammates follow suit or not, Warner is sure about taking the aggressive route in Sri Lanka. “At the end of the day, for me, my best way of approaching the game is to look to score runs. “If I’m looking to score then I’m in the right frame of mind. That’s always going to be my positive energy and intent and that’s always to look to score first and defend second.”