David Warner has his sights firmly set on becoming the new Adam Gilchrist at the top of Australia's one-day batting line-up. Warner, 23, is in India with the ODI squad and Australia's selectors are keen to see how he performs in the 50-over format on the subcontinent, with a potential World Cup place up for grabs.
Although Australia have largely used Warner as a Twenty20 specialist, he also played seven ODIs last year and once bludgeoned a memorable 165 in a one-day game for New South Wales. His all-or-nothing style might not always suit the pacing of 50-over cricket but he hopes he can play a similar role to Gilchrist, who was viewed by every opponent as a potential matchwinner.
"I see myself as similar to Adam Gilchrist, more of an X-factor player, where I go out there and try to mimic his role as he played," Warner told reporters in India. "He was aggressive, he might've come off one in five innings as well, but he changed the course of the game.
"Everyone was talking about, 'We've got to get Adam out, if we don't get him out then he could put 100 on in 10 overs'. I look up to him as that kind of player, an impact player, where if I can get off to a good start, I can put the other team on the back foot and make them worry about how they're going to get myself out, instead of the other players they should be worrying about as well."
The most recent of Warner's one-day internationals came against Scotland last August, but that was a one-off encounter used as a warm-up for Twenty20s against England. During his six earlier games Warner made one significant score - 69 against South Africa in Sydney - but he said he had found it hard to adjust from Twenty20 in his initial steps on the ODI scene.
"I felt that I had to keep going the same pace and one tempo, and that's where I reckon I've matured now and I've learned to adapt," Warner said. "There were little things there where I wasn't in the right position, so that's the thing that was out, but if I go back into the same situation I'm going to do the same thing because it was there to hit.
"But in the end I was probably feeling a bit of pressure because I wasn't scoring runs. I'm still going to play the same way I play, but not trying to go after every ball - I've got 50 overs, not 20. Now I reckon I'm mature enough that I can try to last 50 overs."
Warner's opportunity in India was granted when the selectors decided to rest Shane Watson ahead of the Ashes, but rain washed out the first ODI in Kochi on Sunday. There are also concerns over the weather for the remaining two games, in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday and Margao on Sunday.
Cricinfo.
Although Australia have largely used Warner as a Twenty20 specialist, he also played seven ODIs last year and once bludgeoned a memorable 165 in a one-day game for New South Wales. His all-or-nothing style might not always suit the pacing of 50-over cricket but he hopes he can play a similar role to Gilchrist, who was viewed by every opponent as a potential matchwinner.
"I see myself as similar to Adam Gilchrist, more of an X-factor player, where I go out there and try to mimic his role as he played," Warner told reporters in India. "He was aggressive, he might've come off one in five innings as well, but he changed the course of the game.
"Everyone was talking about, 'We've got to get Adam out, if we don't get him out then he could put 100 on in 10 overs'. I look up to him as that kind of player, an impact player, where if I can get off to a good start, I can put the other team on the back foot and make them worry about how they're going to get myself out, instead of the other players they should be worrying about as well."
The most recent of Warner's one-day internationals came against Scotland last August, but that was a one-off encounter used as a warm-up for Twenty20s against England. During his six earlier games Warner made one significant score - 69 against South Africa in Sydney - but he said he had found it hard to adjust from Twenty20 in his initial steps on the ODI scene.
"I felt that I had to keep going the same pace and one tempo, and that's where I reckon I've matured now and I've learned to adapt," Warner said. "There were little things there where I wasn't in the right position, so that's the thing that was out, but if I go back into the same situation I'm going to do the same thing because it was there to hit.
"But in the end I was probably feeling a bit of pressure because I wasn't scoring runs. I'm still going to play the same way I play, but not trying to go after every ball - I've got 50 overs, not 20. Now I reckon I'm mature enough that I can try to last 50 overs."
Warner's opportunity in India was granted when the selectors decided to rest Shane Watson ahead of the Ashes, but rain washed out the first ODI in Kochi on Sunday. There are also concerns over the weather for the remaining two games, in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday and Margao on Sunday.
Cricinfo.
