Mark Taylor wants Warner for the WTC final and first two tests against England

Mark Taylor believes David Warner should be given three tests to compete for his spot in England, while urging the Australian selectors to look for alternatives in the form of Cameron Bancroft or Matt Renshaw. 

Selectors are likely to announce a squad for the upcoming World Test Championship final against India and the Ashes this week, with the primary focus on the top of the order. 

Warner is expected to get a nod ahead of other possible opening batters for the WTC final at the Oval on June 7 before the Ashes kick off, returning from an elbow injury that forced a premature exit from the test tour in India. 

The southpaw will be under the firing line and ought to produce runs early in England. His last triple figure score came back in December last year against South Africa at the MCG. Since then, he has witnessed a sudden decline and has gone 32 innings without registering a score of substantial substance. The explosive batter averaged 9.50 on the last Ashes tour in 2019. 

But Taylor, who will be a part of Nine Network’s Ashes broadcast, reckons Warner should compete in the opening two tests against England if he makes the final cut for the all important final against India. 

If I am reading the tea leaves right, it sounds like they will stick with David for the World Test Championship at The Oval," the former Test captain told AAP. "And if that's the way Australia are thinking about the World Test Championship, then yes, they have to start with him for the Ashes.

"It would be very hard to have Usman Khawaja and Warner open the batting and then change a week later for the first Test at Edgbaston. Whoever they think is our best opening combination for the World Test Championship, should do the first three Tests of the summer."

The selectors earlier stated that they will break the English summer into two blocks of three Tests, with the squad to be reevaluated after the second Ashes Test. 

Taylor is also determined to rope in Bancroft or Renshaw as backup opener instead of someone like Marcus Harris, who is regarded as the next big thing. Despite that, the Victorian, who is currently out of action for almost 15 months now!

Bancroft has also been out of action in red ball cricket since quite some time. He last featured in the 2019 Ashes series, but has looked good lately. The 30 year old was the top run getter in this summer’s Sheffield Shield with 945 runs under his name. But Taylor said he was in utter disbelief by the selectors’ contract call earlier this month. 

 "My old way of thinking, I always like a right-and-left-hander combination. So I would love to see Cameron Bancroft get another opportunity at the top of the order," he said. "I see Renshaw has been making runs in New Zealand [for Australia A], but Bancroft has made a heap of runs in the Australian summer.

"One thing I do like about Bancroft, which I also like about Renshaw, is their ability to catch in the field. In the next year or two, we're going to need to find two openers. The one thing that has worried me about Marcus Harris is his fielding.

"The way this series is panning out, fielding is going to be crucial. I think that will go against someone like Marcus Harris, whose fielding is not great."