“I’ve seen that look before”: The worry over Australian opener ahead of T20 World Cup

Respected cricket writer Peter Lalor says he’s worried about several aspects of Australia’s T20 side ahead of Saturday night’s World Cup opener against South Africa.

Justin Langer’s side completed their preparations for the tournament on Wednesday with an eight-wicket loss to tournament favourites India.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, out-of-form opener David Warner struggled again, dismissed for just one run off seven balls.

Lalor said he was concerned about Warner’s body language after being dismissed by R Ashwin, saying it reminded him of his demeanour during the latter stages of the 2019 Ashes series in England.

“I didn’t like the way David Warner left the field,” he said on SEN’s Whateley.

“The demeanour and the look – I’ve seen that look before and it was at the back end of the Ashes in England.

“He’s the most stoic and resilient sportsman, there was a real hint of ‘this (form slump) is getting on top of me’ when he was walking off and it was almost like he was dragging the bat behind him. It worried me.

“It also worried me that the Australian bowlers couldn’t get a wicket, there’s a bit to worry about there.

“But there's also a few positive, it was great to see Steve Smith bat like he did.”

Despite slumping to 3-11 in the fourth over, Smith (57 off 48) and Marcus Stoinis (41 off 25) dragged Australia to 5-152 off 20 overs, a target which India manage to chase down with 19 balls to spare.