According to Australia’s veteran left-handed opener David Warner, amassing runs in the Caribbean during the T20 World Cup in June will be a difficult task due to slow pitch conditions and the ball turning more. The tournament will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 1-29.
While batters have enjoyed high-scoring matches in the IPL 2024, Warner warns that the conditions in the West Indies will be markedly different. The aggregate run-rate for T20Is in the Caribbean since 2021 has been a mere 7.91, indicating that batters will need to adjust their tempo and find the right approach to score big on slow pitches.
“The pitches in the West Indies can be slower and they’re going to turn a bit,” Warner said. “I don’t think they’re going to be as compact as they are here. I’ve played a lot of cricket over there and played in the CPL. The wickets tend to get a little bit lower and slower. Even when we played there in 2010 (T20) World Cup, the pitches there weren’t high-scoring. That’s when you did need an anchor. Someone like Mike Hussey came out and scored runs for us. He had to come and knock it around.”
Warner’s experience playing in the Caribbean, including the 2010 T20 World Cup, gives him valuable insights into the challenges that Australian batters will face. He emphasizes the need for batters to be adaptable and find ways to score runs even on slow, turning pitches.
