Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh believes that veteran opener David Warner has his work cut-out against left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi in the forthcoming three-match Test series in Pakistan.
Australia are set to play a Test series in Pakistan after a gap of 24 years and one of their key arsenals, as far as their batting is concerned, will be opener Warner.
Warner has over 7000 runs and 23 hundreds at the Test level but his performances away from home with the exception of South Africa, have been appalling.
In recent times, the southpaw has struggled against pace bowlers, especially right-arm seamers like Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and Mark Wood.
Apart from hard-lengths, Warner has faced a lot of issues while tackling a right-arm seamer from round the wicket.
That's because, when a right-arm seamer goes round the wicket, it leaves the left-handed batsman unsure whether to play or leave the delivery.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, Junior Waugh elaborated the same, while adding that the left-arm angle of Shaheen Afridi might pose the same threat to Warner.
Waugh said:
"I don't think Warner's looked quite as comfortable against quick bowling in recent times – Mark Wood definitely unsettled him, and Shaheen Afridi will be a big test for him,"
"It's a different angle and for him it's a little bit like a right-arm quick coming round the wicket – do you play the ball, or do you leave the ball?" he added.
"Generally a right-arm seamer over the wicket is going to angle across the wicket so he's probably more confident whether to leave or play the ball, but when you've got the left-armer from that different angle, he's probably not as comfortable. Shaheen Afridi's got the ability to angle in and take the ball away from David Warner, so he does pose that question," said the former Test cricketer.
“Then if one goes straight on, he's bringing bowleds and lbws into play. So it's a different challenge, definitely,” Waugh signed off.
Warner has a brilliant record against Shaheen thus far, albeit he's only faced the latter in batting-friendly conditions of Australia in 2019.
During that series, Warner scored 75 runs off 145 deliveries bowled by Shaheen without getting dismissed.
The three-match Test series will get underway in Rawalpindi on March 04.
Australia's Test squad for Pakistan tour:
Pat Cummins (C), Steve Smith (VC), David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Ashton, Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (WK), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Swepson