Hick: Warner put too much pressure on himself

Nicholas McGee

Hick: Warner put too much pressure on himself image

Australian batting coach Graeme Hick believes David Warner may have put too much pressure on himself in Australia's Test series with India as he has struggled to deal with Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

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Warner has consistently spoken about changing his aggressive approach to combat the threat of India's spinners, but has averaged just 24.13 in eight innings as Australia stare a series defeat in the face.

Australia were skittled for 137 in their second innings in the fourth Test with Warner falling for just six, before India reached 0-19 at the close in Dharamsala, leaving the hosts just 87 runs from victory.

"Obviously David will be very disappointed with his aggregate on tour," Hick told reporters at the end of day three.

"He was desperate to have a very big tour and to have a very big influence here. Whether he put himself under a bit too much pressure to do so, only he can answer that.

"He will reflect on it, as champions do, and feel and assess it himself. But without a doubt, he is one of our major players and you would have hoped for a little bit more from him.

"It is tough up front [with] Jadeja bowling into the rough and Ashwin bowls really well at him. [They] certainly questioned him.

"That's the beauty of the game, it puts these challenges up between great players and makes it very interesting to watch. David will obviously be very disappointed with the way things have gone."

Just five Australians reached double figures – Glenn Maxwell top scoring with 45 – in the second innings but Hick feels it is a collapse from 144-1 to 300 all out in the first innings that has cost Steve Smith's men.

"You can hear a pin drop in the dressing room, very disappointing day," Hick said.

"There's always a chance until the final ball is bowled. The boys are pretty down but they'll give it a good crack in the morning and you never know, but I'd say it's a tough ask.

"I think both sides have been guilty of it through the series, you know when you come here there is a danger of losing wickets in clumps. The hardest part is getting yourself in, getting that first half hour out of the way and making sure you do the job.

"I wouldn't be critical of guys who, in a way, get out cheaply and haven't got in. I think, if I look back over this game and one or two others in the series, I'd say we've missed our opportunity and left some runs out there in the first innings.

"From 130-1 on the first day, to only put 300 on the board, if we had another 100 runs, 150 runs from that first innings, then we're in the game tomorrow [Tuesday]. While today was very disappointing, it's not the only reason why we find ourselves in this position."

Nicholas McGee