Warner 'stung' by worst ever series

After the worst ODI series of his career, David Warner will relish the chance to captain his country and break out of his current form dip in the upcoming Gillette T20 Tri-Series.

That's the opinion of former Australia batsman Mike Hussey, who says Warner will be "stung a little bit" having averaged just 14.60 in his side's 1-4 series loss to England earlier this month.

Warner scored 73 runs in five games against England, the first time he's averaged less than 15 in an ODI series of three or more matches, as Australia's disappointing recent record in one-day cricket continued.

Not since 2012 has Warner averaged less than 20 in a one-day series and his performance against England came after he scored a record seven ODI centuries in 2016 and three last year.

But having been handed the captaincy for the T20 series, which starts in Sydney on Saturday, Warner will rise to the challenge, according to Hussey.

"He'll be stung a little bit having had a disappointing one-day series, but he'll also be so excited about being captain of the team," Hussey told The Unplayable Podcast.

"I know he loves leading teams, he's led the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and done a fantastic job there. And he's someone who really thrives on the leadership and leads from the front.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he's someone who has a very good series for Australia."

Warner has won three from four games in charge of Australia in the shortest form of the game; two in Sri Lanka in 2016 and one against India late last year when Smith was injured.

Despite his inexperience leading the national side, Warner has shown a strong aptitude as a captain having led Sunrisers Hyderabad in the past three seasons of the IPL, including a title-winning run in 2016.

And after a long summer, Hussey says the leadership will bring the best out of the left-hander.

"He's an inspirational guy and when he's got his head switched on properly and he's motivated and he wants to do well, nothing gets in his way," Hussey said.

"I wouldn't be surprised, particularly after not having the greatest of one-day series, that he comes out and has a blinder."

The form of captaincy duo Warner and Steve Smith (102 runs at 20) played a major role in Australia's ODI series defeat to England, which saw the world champions slump to fifth in the ICC's rankings.

Hussey echoed the sentiments of former skipper Michael Clarke, who said this week "there's no doubt" the fatigue of a long summer – including an Ashes victory – caught up with senior players during the one-day series.

"I got the feeling there was a little bit of fatigue hanging over some of the players ... David Warner, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood," he said.

"They put so much time, effort, energy and anxiety into that Ashes series that it can take a toll on your body by the end of the summer.

"I used to feel that as a player myself, you taper your performances off at the end of the (season) just through exhaustion."

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

Australia squad: David Warner (c), Aaron Finch (vc), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Ben Dwarshuis, Travis Head, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

England squad: Eoin Morgan (c), Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, David Willey, Mark Wood.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell, Trent Boult, Tom Bruce, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Anaru Kitchen, Colin Munro, Seth Rance, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Ben Wheeler. 

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