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Has David Warner surpassed Alastair Cook in Tests?

Ab Fan

Ab Fan

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Perfect bowling conditions for Philander and Rabada. Yet , Warner has managed to give a big start to the Australian side upfront.This guy is an absolute match winner and lately he is scoring runs across conditions too.

Do you think he is a better test batsmen than the other premier opener of the era, Alastair Cook?

He has got better average, better Strike Rate and has already performed better than Cook against quality pace bowling. For all his struggle in England, he still scored lots of runs in that series too and has hundreds in UAE and Bangladesh.
 
Not many players have been able to replicate the kind of phainty Warner is giving to SA in SA conditions.
 
Cook averages 47 in away tests, Warner 38.

If you look at host countries, Cook's worst is 31 in South Africa. He averages 35 in New Zealand and his average is over 45 everywhere else.

Warner averages below 31 in four countries. 24 in India, 13 in NZ, 27 in Sri Lanka and 27 in WI.

Warner has improved a lot recently, but he still has a long way to go to shed the home track bully label and get close to Chef.
 
No he has not. Still poor in SC ( Ban are Ban for a reason) , Eng . This pitch in PE has just something for bowlers. That is a bare minimum for good test batsmen to deal with.
 
Big Mac said:
Cook averages 47 in away tests, Warner 38.

If you look at host countries, Cook's worst is 31 in South Africa. He averages 35 in New Zealand and his average is over 45 everywhere else.

Warner averages below 31 in four countries. 24 in India, 13 in NZ, 27 in Sri Lanka and 27 in WI.

Warner has improved a lot recently, but he still has a long way to go to shed the home track bully label and get close to Chef.
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Out of those four countries, WI are hardly any relevant and in NZ, he played just two matches.

You also have to look that Warner's home performance is much much better than Cook's performance( he has poor record vs Aus/SA at home). Also, against better quality pace attack, Warner wins hands down. I dont think the difference is big anymore.
 
Ab Fan said:
Out of those four countries, WI are hardly any relevant and in NZ, he played just two matches.

You also have to look that Warner's home performance is much much better than Cook's performance( he has poor record vs Aus/SA at home). Also, against better quality pace attack, Warner wins hands down. I dont think the difference is big anymore.
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Yes, that is because Warner's home country is Australia and Cook's is England. No prizes for guessing which country is tougher on the top order batsmen.

Warner will never surpass Cook in test cricket.
 
Not for me. Cook was one of the greats in Indian conditions and almost single handedly dragged his side to a series win over there. The second best bat, KP, was still levels behind that series. Then lets not forget his bloody mindedness in getting England an Ashes win in Australia.

Warner hasnt come close to any of those types of legendary series for his country in those types of hostile environments.
 
barah_admi said:
Not for me. Cook was one of the greats in Indian conditions and almost single handedly dragged his side to a series win over there. The second best bat, KP, was still levels behind that series. Then lets not forget his bloody mindedness in getting England an Ashes win in Australia.

Warner hasnt come close to any of those types of legendary series for his country in those types of hostile environments.
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David Warner won a series in South Africa against a side which had Kallis, Smith, Amla, AB, Steyn, Morkel and Philander.
 
barah_admi said:
Not for me. Cook was one of the greats in Indian conditions and almost single handedly dragged his side to a series win over there. The second best bat, KP, was still levels behind that series. Then lets not forget his bloody mindedness in getting England an Ashes win in Australia.

Warner hasnt come close to any of those types of legendary series for his country in those types of hostile environments.
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Did Cook ever performed in any series having such big names like Warner did?
 
Kallis had already retired prior to the series, Smith had regressed a lot and retired at the end of the series while Steyn wasn't quite at his best in that series. Also, the pitches surprisingly were similar to those in Australia, without much seam and swing in which Warner prospered. Still credit goes to him where it's due.
 
What i like the most about threads like these is that they make me feel proud of my intelligence.
 
Warner is literally walking wicket on spinning pitches. He is not even close to Cook let alone surpass him. Not just one country but he had failed in almost every countries in Asia.
 
CanadianG00se said:
Series against India in 2012. Cook played an important role.
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Well, Sehwag and Tendulkar were on last legs while Ashwin was young. Pujara was only one in form. It was a ridiculously depleted side unlike SA side which were still very strong with Amla, AB, Steyn, Philander and Morkel.
 
CanadianG00se said:
Warner is literally walking wicket on spinning pitches. He is not even close to Cook let alone surpass him. Not just one country but he had failed in almost every countries in Asia.
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I think he has done well in 50% of countries he played in Asia.3 hundreds in Asia(2 vs Ban, 1 vs Pak in UAE).
 
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SLcric123 said:
Well, Sehwag and Tendulkar were on last legs while Ashwin was young. Pujara was only one in form. It was a ridiculously depleted side unlike SA side which were still very strong with Amla, AB, Steyn, Philander and Morkel.
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Yet Aussies got owned just few months later.
 
SLcric123 said:
I think he has done well in 50% of countries he played in Asia.3 hundreds in Asia(2 vs Ban, 1 vs Pak in UAE).
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Despite that he hasn’t brought victories for his team, has he? Which series did Australia won in Asia that Warner played defining role?
 
Apart from India, I am not sure about other Asian cricket members - Warner has played most impactful innings in SA and Aus. If he is left unchecked/undismissed he can take away the game in 2.5 sessions (tests) - a bit like Gilchrist. Apart from that, he has improved so much in IPL and Sunrisers if I remember right won on his and Bhuvi Kumar's efforts 2 years back. So, he has to bring that confidence into tests also when playing. Problem is he struggles against quality spinners, vice-versa condition of many sub-continent players. As for Cook comparison, Cook is strong foot frint against all sub-continental countries. 3-4 good impactful knocks, if not Centuries, but match-winning ones in India, UAE, SL, BD will put him in the league next to Cook I guess. Cook on the other hand if he scores another 2-3 match-winning knocks in the same region will stabilize his stature in the top-20 ATG Batsman list.
 
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My observation is that Warner is generally a touch overrated on PP whereas Cook is slightly underrated. 1 or 2 big knocks aside, Cook has often been out cheaply versus Pakistan, which is perhaps the reason for the middling rating.
 
No and most likely he will never surpass Cook unless he has two outstanding subcontinent tours.
 
Short answer: No
Long answer: No

Warner is the biggest HTB of modern era, apart from Pujara. Cook has won tons of matches for England across the world, especially in India which is the hardest place to bat for non SC batsmen. Until Warner scores a century in India, he will never be on the same level as Cook. His home stats are as useful as a snowboards in Sahara desert.
 
Cook is better, for now. But watching him bat is like watching paint dry.

On the other hand I enjoy watching Warner immensely
 
Warner has to prove more abroad. Cook has an exceptional record in numerous countries, Warner is very much a home track bully, albeit as good as they come in that niche. Do I think he'll ever be as good away from home as Cook? no, but he doesn't have to be. He's far more dominant at home than Cook is, he just needs to get into touching distance abroad for his home performances to put daylight between him and Cook.
 
Dead Ball said:
Cook is better, for now. But watching him bat is like watching paint dry.

On the other hand I enjoy watching Warner immensely
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Cook, as much as I respect his grit, is garbage to watch, period, let alone next to Warner. He's very one dimensional and anti-dynamic, makes his exploits more impressive in one light but there are a lot more openers you'd pay to see than Cook.
 
Ab Fan said:
David Warner won a series in South Africa against a side which had Kallis, Smith, Amla, AB, Steyn, Morkel and Philander.
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David Warner "won" that series? Not really. He did well but it's a stretch to make him the main man. That series did not really have a stand-out player. Not for lack of quality but because several players were superb. Right up till the Rhino burst through the South African tail, the series was in the balance.

Kallis retired before that series and that was Smith's end as well.
 
Bilal7 said:
David Warner "won" that series? Not really. He did well but it's a stretch to make him the main man. That series did not really have a stand-out player. Not for lack of quality but because several players were superb. Right up till the Rhino burst through the South African tail, the series was in the balance.

Kallis retired before that series and that was Smith's end as well.
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tbh Warner was easily best batsmen of that series just like Johnson was easily best bowler of the series.Warner was also given Man of the series.
 
Ab Fan said:
Cook won the series against a side that had depleted attack- Aus in 2010 and India in 2012.

Warner won the series against a better bowling attack.
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What was depleted about those attacks?

And who did Warner beat as the best bat throughout the series?
 
It is now established that Warner cannot bat in England. On the contrary, Cook has fared far better in Australia and was far better in Asia as well. There is no doubt left that Cook was a vastly superior Test opener.

Warner is very good in his own right, but clearly a rung below Cook, Hayden, G. Smith and Langer.
 
Mamoon said:
It is now established that Warner cannot bat in England. On the contrary, Cook has fared far better in Australia and was far better in Asia as well. There is no doubt left that Cook was a vastly superior Test opener.

Warner is very good in his own right, but clearly a rung below Cook, Hayden, G. Smith and Langer.
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Add G.Kirsten as well
 
Mamoon said:
I agree, and I would add Sehwag to the list as well, who was a superior clone of Warner.
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I would also like to add Chris gayle .
Chris Gayle is underrated as a test batsman due to t20 exloits that guy has 2 triple hundreds one in srilanka and second against southafrica.
 
Longevity is no joke.

Players who have played 150-170 tests are among the greatest ever.

It only takes a couple of bad series for the career graph graph south.
 
Mamoon said:
It is now established that Warner cannot bat in England. On the contrary, Cook has fared far better in Australia and was far better in Asia as well. There is no doubt left that Cook was a vastly superior Test opener.

Warner is very good in his own right, but clearly a rung below Cook, Hayden, G. Smith and Langer.
Click to expand...

Warner is a far superior ODI bat though and this is an era where your exploits in limited overs matters.
 
Where do we stand in the comparison now?A grinder or the destroyer? Who is the pick?
 
Cook has dominated an away Ashes series and an away India tour.

These are things Warner has never come close to doing and likely will never do also.

In Aus standards Warner has surpassed Slater as a Test opener. But versatility wise still behind both Hayden and Langer
 
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