ADELAIDE, Dec 15: While there are question marks over opener David Warner’s fitness for the second match of the Ashes series, there are no doubts about Australia’s superiority in day-night Tests.
They’re a perfect eight from eight as they go into the pink-ball Test against England beginning on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval.
Warner had a few reprieves on his way to scoring 94 runs in the series-opener at the Gabba in Brisbane, where Australia beat England by nine wickets.
But after taking two hits in the ribs while batting, Warner didn’t field for Australia in England’s second innings. He still appeared to be in discomfort while batting in practice at Adelaide.
The net session came after his teammate Travis Head, who cemented his spot as Australia’s No. 5 by scoring 152 in Brisbane, predicted Warner would play in the second Test.
At least one change to the Test lineup is certain for Australia, with right-arm paceman Jhye Richardson likely to return for the first time in almost three seasons to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood.
While Australia’s record in day-night matches is perfect, England has just one win in four attempts. The win came in its first day-nighter at home against West Indies in 2017.
England will get two chances with the pink ball in this series — the fifth Test in Hobart, which was moved from Perth because of COVID-19 restrictions in Western Australia, will also be a day-nighter.
Going into Adelaide, allrounder Ben Stokes allayed concerns about the knee injury that hampered his bowling at Brisbane last week, after coming through a nets session.
The 30-year-old Stokes bowled just 12 overs at the Gabba, his first Test match since March, and was in obvious discomfort during his latter spells after appearing to jar his left knee while chasing a ball to the boundary. But he was back to full pace on Tuesday, where he bowled for an hour.
Veteran pacers Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad are back in the selection mix after being omitted for the first Test at the Gabba.
Both were reported to be fit, but England went for a different combination with a view to rotating its attack depending on conditions throughout the five-Test series. (AP)
