David Warner has been part of Australia's plans.
"David Warner will retain his position at the top order at Old Trafford and Josh Hazlewood will replace Scott Boland. Australia's final decision for the series will be between Cameron Green and Todd Murphy because Australia is looking for a win that will secure and delay the Ashes. The series is heading towards a crucial moment.
After Stuart Broad's double failure in the Headingley Test, David Warner 's position came under scrutiny - this is the 17th time he has been dismissed by Broad. Australia needs to figure out if there's a way to bring Green back into the XI.
Since 2021, Warner has scored at an average of 28.17 in 23 Test matches, including a double century against South Africa in last year's MCG Test. It is evident that he has been part of Australia's plans. During Monday's practice, he was seen at the slip cordon and Pat Cummins supported Warner 's contributions in the series where he scored 61, 73, and 63 with Usman Khawaja.
Cummins said, "I think (Warner ) is performing really well. In Lords, he was quite impressive. Last week, like many of us, he might not have contributed with the bat as he wanted."
"He has been working hard these past few days, and I feel he has shown positive signs during this phase. However, he might not be quite ready to score those big centuries yet. Some of his innings have been challenging in difficult conditions, while at times, it has been a bit easier for him when coming in after Steve Smith."
With Warner likely to be retained, and with Michel Marsh's impressive century in Headingley, there is a sole way back for Green – to replace Todd Murphy with Travis Head, who can complement Australia's pace attack with his all-speed aggression, as demonstrated during Monday's net session. In Headingly, Murphy's gentle use of the ball raised questions about what decision could be taken.
The series is about to enter two crucial weeks that will define how this tour and team are remembered. If they can win at Old Trafford, it will complete the job before the Oval, marking England's first series victory since 2001. Failing at 2-0 will make the opportunity missed in comparison to the 2019's Ashes.
Australia's plans for this tour are based on ensuring they reach the pinnacle at the end of the journey. The situation is similar to Headingly after slipping there.
The team came back together in Manchester only on Sunday as most players took a week's break. Some have questioned if this break was the best use of time with the knife-edge of the series, but Cummins ' experience from the 2019 tour, which included some tour matches, showed that it led to the best cricket at the end of the tour, having spent 30 out of 60 days on a tour.
"It's all part of thinking about how we structure this tour so that we are as fresh and as ready as possible when we hit those high-pressure moments," Cummins said.
"If you look at our recent tours to Pakistan or India, we played our best cricket near the end of the tours." Hopefully, it will be the same here, and we are becoming more accustomed to the circumstances. And, fortunately, other from Nathan [Lyon], we have no injury concerns, so it feels quite well-established."
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