David Warner is no longer a certain starter for the Australia XI

Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, stated that all possibilities were open and that he had not ruled out benching struggling opener David Warner for the Ashes series’ conclusion.

In order to retire from Test duty against Pakistan at his home stadium in Sydney the following year, left-handed opener Warner has made his intentions known.

But following another double failure against longtime England foe Stuart Broad during Australia’s three-wicket loss in the third Ashes Test at Headingley on Sunday, the 36-year-old may still not have the opportunity to retire on his own terms.

Warner only managed to score four and one points at Leeds, losing to Broad both times, giving the seamer a total of 17 Test career dismissals.

Despite the fact that Australia leads the five-match Ashes series 2-1, Warner has struggled throughout, averaging a pitiful 23.50 with only one fifty from six innings.

Warner’s lack of runs has forced Australia to make a difficult choice nine days before the start of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, yet the absence of tour games makes it tougher for players like backup hitter Marcus Harris to make their case.

Another scenario in which Warner would not play is if Mitchell Marsh, who replaced Cameron Green due to injury in the first Test since 2019 with a fantastic 118 and two wickets, is kept on the team along with his colleague all-rounder, who is anticipated to be well enough to play in Manchester.

Breath deeply

When asked whether Warner may be dropped from the Australian XI in order to make room for Marsh and Green, Cummins said, “We’ll leave all our options open. Now that we only have nine or ten days left, we’ll take a deep breath.

We’ll take a little break, but everyone returns to it. We should have a complete roster and Greeny should be ready for Manchester. Therefore, we’ll examine the wicket, talk, and choose the best XI.

When asked if Marsh would likely be dropped, fast bowler Cummins responded with a little more vehemence.

It’s conceivable, but wasn’t that a fairly remarkable week, he said.

Australia’s first significant setback of the trip came from England’s successful chase of 251 at Headingley, which restored their Ashes chances at 2-1 down with two remaining.

Last month, Cummins led his team to victory against India in the World Test Championship final at The Oval. Then, thanks to his outstanding hitting, Australia went on to win the first Ashes match by two wickets at Edgbaston and the second Test by 43 runs at Lord’s.

Australia is attempting to win the Ashes series in England for the first time in 22 years, so the matches against Ben Stokes’ team have been particularly exciting events.

Cummins said, “It’s just tense out there.” “I genuinely really appreciate being outside and having the impression that you have some degree of control over the circumstance while you’re in it.

“It’s one hundred times worse when you’re in the changing room and you wish you could do something about it but you can’t.”