Melbourne, Australia

Australia batter David Warner has picked Marcus Harris as the first choice batter to replace him to open the batting in Tests. Warner is currently playing his penultimate Test at the MCG against Pakistan before he hangs up his boots in Sydney in front of his home crowd. The Aussie opener shared the thoughts after the first day of the second Test where he scored 38 off 83 balls.

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"It's a tough one," Warner said. "It's obviously up to the selectors. But from my position, I feel like the person who's worked their backside off and has been there for a while in the background, I think Harry's been that person. He's toured, he's going to have that chance. He scored a hundred the other day [for a Victoria XI vs the Pakistanis].

Also Read: Australia finish marginally ahead of Pakistan on rain-hit day 1 of Boxing Day Test

"He missed out in a couple other games but he's always been that person who was next in line. If the selectors show faith in him, then I'm sure he'll come out and play the way he does. It's not too dissimilar to me. If he sees it in his areas, he goes for it, plays his shots, and I think he would fit well," he added.

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There have many names who have come up to replace Warner in Tests including Mitch Marsh and Travis Head. Both the players have opened in the white-ball format in the recent times but have publicly said no to opening in the red-ball format.

Former Australia batter Michael Hussey also believes that the Kangaroos should go for a 'traditional, proper opener' to replace David Warner. 

"Opening is one of the toughest jobs in the game," Hussey said while speaking at an event where he was inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame along with former women's skipper Lyn Larsen. 

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"If I was selecting, I'd be going for a traditional, proper opener. Someone who has done it for a long period of time. Because if you haven't done it much in your first-class career, it's going to be very difficult," he added.

As for the MCG Test, Australia finished day 1 on 187/3 after rain cut short the playing time after lunch.