Australian opener David Warner remains doubtful for the third Test against India, as revealed by head coach Justin Langer, even while the hosts feel the absence of a strong opening option at the top of their batting order.
Langer on Sunday revealed that while Warner looked comfortably batting in the nets he did show discomfort while running between the wickets owing to his continued recovery from the groin injury he had incurred during the second ODI against India at the SCG in November.
Australia need a strong batting option of Warner's capability at the top of the batting order especially having conceded a first-innings lead in Adelaide and then being folded for 195 in Melbourne on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test.
"There's no-one more professional and he's doing everything possible," Langer told Ricky Ponting during a lunchtime interview on Seven. "We saw him bat the day before the game, he's batting again this afternoon at the MCG, so in terms of his batting he's flying, it's just trying to ... he's still having some trouble with his groin and we know how dynamic he is.
"His running between the wickets, his movements all the time, so he's getting closer and we're hopeful he will come good, he's certainly hopeful he'll come good, but time will tell. We've still got a few more days to the next Test match."
Warner alongside Joe Burns had stitched crucial partnerships last summer against Pakistan and New Zealand, but the hosts have been devoid of a century stand against India. The best that has been managed is of 86 runs between Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head in Adelaide.
"A bit like the first Test, just our partnerships," Langer said when asked what he had been disappointed by. "We're not going to set up games as well as we could - if you look at our partnerships in the first Test match in the first innings and then yesterday, we have to get a lot better at that.
"We had one 50-partnership in the first Test and we had an 86-run partnership yesterday, and you've also, when you have an 86-run partnership, you've got to turn that into 150, because you're set and to set up the game. So we weren't able to do that and to me, partnerships as much as anything."
