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Meet the new David Warner

PHIL LUTTON

13 Jan, 2009 05:00 AM

Will the next Dave Warner please stand up?

After just one innings in national colours, the young man who put the South African bowling attack over his knee for an 89-run spanking has scouts and selectors looking under every rock for the next power hitter to fast-track through the ranks.

All of a sudden, a posse of precocious wannabes has a new twinkle in the eye.

One of the possible candidates, Nathan Reardon, will be sitting in the stands at the Gabba tonight, watching with interest to see if Warner can surpass the five sixes the Queenslander launched in last week's Big Bash victory over South Australia.

In one of the most destructive displays of power hitting seen at the iconic Brisbane ground, the 24-year-old Reardon dispatched two of his five clearances into the second tier of the grandstand on his way to a quickfire 46 to set the Queensland innings racing.

It wasn't just Bulls insiders who suspected they may have unearthed the next Twenty20 star. Now with Warner's earth-shattering innings having shifted the selection mindset once and for all, players of Reardon's ilk - natural hitters with limited or no four-day credentials - could watch their stocks soar at breakneck pace.

Doors have been opened. New paths have been cleared.

"It was quite amazing wasn't it? I was really happy for him. He's taken Twenty20 and one-day cricket to a new level for young players," Reardon said.

"He's set a standard for young players. Seeing that he's been selected without playing a first-class game of cricket gives us all a bit of hope really. It's very exciting."

Warner's passage to the top, which didn't include a stopover in four-day cricket, has unlocked an entirely new crop of cricketers for selection panels to monitor and measure.

Reardon fits squarely into that category. At 173cm and left-handed, the similarities to Warner are self-evident, even if the domestic domination has yet to arise. Reardon has played first-class cricket, although he is far from being the first Bulls name mentioned at the selection table.

A new ray of hope is shining down from the Australian team to a group of players who previously thought the only way to the top was through years of compiling statistics in the unforgiving meat-grinder of the Sheffield Shield.

Still, Reardon is urging caution to youngsters eager to make a name for themselves in Twenty20 cricket and pocketing all the cash that comes with success in the short form of the game.

He says that in spite of Warner's freakish antics, young cricketers would be foolish to pigeon-hole themselves as they attempt to follow his lead, warning state and national bodies to guard against a seismic shift of skills in the junior ranks.

"I think that's definitely something that state and national associations need to work through. You can potentially play three or four years of Twenty20 cricket and set your life up. But that's up to the player. I've got no doubt young players are going to do that," Reardon said.

"There will be players that give up their dreams of playing for Australian because the money is so good in Twenty20 cricket.

"Hopefully it doesn't get that way because Test cricket is very much alive. I hope that doesn't die in the backside."

Reardon is yet to be offered a contract in the Indian Premier League (IPL), although his slogging exploits and sharp fielding make him a perfect fit for the competition.

But he takes umbrage at any suggestion that the IPL has suddenly taken precedence over playing for Australian in the eyes of young cricketers who have a natural aptitude for Twenty20.

"I enjoy one-day and Twenty20 cricket. I obviously haven't broken into the four-day stuff for Queensland just yet, but playing for your country has got to be huge honour, no matter what form of the game," Reardon said.

"I wouldn't just single out Twenty20 cricket. I've worked really hard over the past four years to get my game to somewhere that can be successful in all forms of cricket. From a young age, my goal was always to play one-day and Test cricket for Australia."