Warner in doubt for SL warm-up

Australia vice-captain David Warner is likely to miss his team’s opening warm-up match in Sri Lanka next week, but the opener is expected to be fit in time for the first Test in Kandy later this month.

Warner fractured his left index finger during the ODI tri-series in the Caribbean last month and was sent home to nurse the injury ahead of the Qantas Tour of Sri Lanka.

The opener was in fine form before the injury, suffered while fielding in Australia’s win over South Africa in St Kitts, having scored his sixth ODI century and his first away from home in the same game.

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While Warner’s finger is still healing, the left-hander has been keeping busy in the gym to ensure he will be fit and ready to go once he does pick up the bat in Sri Lanka.

Australia have two warm-up fixtures – a two-day game in Colombo followed by a three-day match in Kandy.

While Warner is unlikely to be ready for the first of those, which begins on July 14, Bupa Support Team Head Coach Darren Lehmann hopes he could return in time for the second, which starts on July 18.

"He probably won't play the two-day game but should play the first-class game – the tour game before we play the first Test," Lehmann told Fairfax Media on Thursday.

"Even if he didn't, I am not too worried about that.  He is one of these guys who picks up a bat quite quickly. He has had broken fingers and injuries before and we have just plugged him back into Test cricket and he is fine."

An interrupted preparation is unlikely to faze Warner, who revealed last month a 'less is more' approach to training was behind his incredible recent form.

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Much has been made of his year-long abstinence from alcohol, but the left-hander said moderation when it comes to training had also helped his batting.

While his captain Steve Smith prepares by facing hours and hours’ worth of deliveries in the nets, Warner has always taken a more relaxed approach.

"For me it's about having rest and getting ready for the next game," Warner said in St Kitts.

"It's all about not hitting too much for me in the nets. I don’t try and go out there and waste them all in the nets. If I've hit them well in 20 minutes, I'll walk out.

"That’s just the way I play and so far it’s kept me in good stead in five or six years playing at this level.

"It's always worked so there’s no point in changing.

"When you're in some form, you've got to try and keep riding it because there's a lot more lows than there are highs in this game."

The Australia Test squad depart for Sri Lanka on Saturday.

While Warner should be fit for the first Test at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Kandy from July 26, Australia have included Western Australia batsman Shaun Marsh in the squad as back-up for the 29-year-old.

Marsh sat out the ODI tri-series due to the birth of his first child with wife Rebecca, but has spent time at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane alongside fellow Test squad members Adam Voges, Jackson Bird, Stephen O’Keefe, Joe Burns and Peter Nevill.

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Australia also stepped up their preparations for next month's Sri Lanka tour by tapping into the knowledge of a former Test player to divulge the subcontinent island nation's inner secrets, recruiting Thilan Samaraweera as a consultant coach.

"It’s been really good to chat to Samaraweera and get a bit of an insight into the sort of conditions we'll be facing in the next couple of months,” Marsh said.

"He's been helping with advice on how to play spin, he's good to chat about that with and get his views."

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (v-c), Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja, Adam Voges, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Lyon Steve O'Keefe.