Hick defends Warner after poor outing in India series

Australia batting coach believes 30-year-old will assess his performance like champions do after the tour

DHARAMSALA: Australia opener David Warner will assess his performance after failing yet again to improve his poor away record in the Test series against India, batting coach Graeme Hick said on Monday.

Warner averages nearly 60 at home but the number drops below 35 when the 30-year-old left-hander is batting abroad.

Fourteen of his 18 centuries came on home soil and the opener managed just one fifty in his eight innings in India, but Kangaroos batting coach believes the left-hander will come back stronger.

"Obviously David will be very disappointed with his aggregate on tour," said Hick while talking to reporters after third day’s play of the final Test. "He was desperate to have a very big tour and to have a very big influence here. Whether he put himself under a bit too much pressure to do so, only he can answer that.

"He will reflect on it, as champions do, and feel and assess it himself. But without a doubt, he is one of our major players and you would have hoped for a little bit more from him."

Warner scored 56 in the first innings and six in the second and has struggled against the Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

"It is tough up front [with] Jadeja bowling into the rough and Ashwin bowls really well at him. [They] certainly questioned him," he added. "That's the beauty of the game, it puts these challenges up between great players and makes it very interesting to watch. David will obviously be very disappointed with the way things have gone.”