Warner upbeat about injured finger

David Warner is confident he has avoided serious injury in St Kitts, where the vice-captain inspired Australia to a 36-run ODI win over South Africa.

Warner, Australia's leading run-scorer in the ongoing tri-series and fresh off the back of a dominant series of performances in the 2016 Indian Premier League, continued his stellar form in a man-of-the-match knock of 109.

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The left-hander was however, forced off the field during the Proteas' unsuccessful run chase, having damaged his left index finger attempting to snaffle a catch.

If the digit is fractured, Warner will be racing the clock to be fit for next month's tour of Sri Lanka.

The superstar would be an immense loss for Australia in all three formats, having refined his brutal batting to a more mature – and effective – level.

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The 29-year-old is upbeat he will be fit to face West Indies at the same venue, where the series continues at 3am AEST on Tuesday.

"Definitely," he said. "A sore finger isn't really going to stop me but if it's broken that might.

"The finger is quite sore ... it's quite painful ... it didn't look too good.

"I've broken the thumb twice now, I know what that feels like. Hopefully, being positive, there's not much damage."

Warner broke the thumb on his left hand most recently last September in England, courtesy of a rearing delivery from Steven Finn in an ODI at Lord's, and was out of action for six weeks before returning for New South Wales and taking his place in the Australia side for what was a busy summer.

At the time, he conceded he would always have to live with the pain in the thumb.

If Warner is forced out of Australia's XI for Tuesday's ODI, Australia have a readymade replacement at the top of the order in current No.3 Usman Khawaja, with captain Steve Smith likely to shift to first drop and Glenn Maxwell – who was dropped for the victory over the Proteas after a lean run with the bat – the likely beneficiary.

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Another option for stand-in coach Justin Langer and selector-on-duty Trevor Hohns could be to opt for uncapped South Australian Travis Head, who scored a spectacular double century in last summer's Matador One-Day Cup, is the reigning Sheffield Shield Player of the Year, and made his T20 international debut in January.

Australia now top the tri-series table, having banked two wins from three games.