ICC Champions Trophy 2017: 5 reasons why Australia did not make it to the semi-final

#5 A shaky David Warner at the top

David Warner struggled in both warm-up games and also in the tournament proper

Virtually every team has certain players who are considered primarily responsible for carrying its baton forward. In the Champions Trophy this year, they were David Warner, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for Australia. The first of those, the firing opener Warner, was presumed to lay a fantastic platform for his side by attacking the new ball from the word go.

He failed to hit the right note in both of Australia’s warm-up games against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the first one, he struggled to 19 off 32 balls, while in the following game, he could only manage 11 off 9 balls. Caught behind to rapid pace both times, the team believed he would deliver when it would matter the most.

However, against New Zealand, Warner fell while advancing to the speed and bounce of Trent Boult after an active 18 off 16 balls. Though he remained undefeated on a neatly made 40 against Bangladesh, Warner threw away another steady start by falling to Mark Wood for 21 against England.

Had Warner hung on for at least another 10 overs against England – he fell in the eighth over – the Australian scoreboard would have worn a different look with his threatening approach and brisk batting.