David Warner is set to hold his place in the Test side for the start of the Australian summer but not even his coach Justin Langer can be certain the star opener will return to his best after his horror Ashes campaign.
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With the series over, Langer spoke candidly of Broad's hold over Warner, saying the former vice-captain had allowed the England seamer to "get into his head" during a series where the veteran seamer dismissed him seven times in 10 innings.
It is not uncommon for a star bowler to get hold of a high-class batsman in the manner Broad did over Warner.
Broad's taming of Warner is likely to be remembered in the years to come in the same way as Terry Alderman's control of Graham Gooch in the 1989 Ashes, Shane Warne's career-long domination of Daryll Cullinan, or Glenn McGrath's grip on Michael Atherton, though all did not fare quite as badly as the boy from Matraville.
Warner managed just 95 runs, the lowest by an opener who had played five matches in an Ashes series.
Thankfully for Warner, he will not have to face Broad until the 2021-22 Ashes, assuming both men get there.
While most players would be under immense pressure for their spot in the side, Warner's record of nearly 6500 runs at 45.47 and 21 centuries buys him more credits than others.
"I've learned over a long period you never write off champion players, it doesn't matter what sport, you never write off champion players," Langer said.
"They tend to come good, don't they? So he's had a tough series, no doubt about that, but he's also a champion player so usually with champion players they get a bit more time to come good.
"He had this series, it didn't go to plan, but he's seen how successful he's been and the impact he can have on Australian cricket teams winning so I'm confident he'll come good.
"Actually, I'm hopeful he comes good."
Such was his inability to see off Broad, it's unclear if Warner is out of form or just unable to face one bowler, though he also fell three times to Jofra Archer.
His stellar performances in the World Cup and hot run in the Indian Premier League suggest Warner, 32, is more out of form than in terminal decline.
"I think, talking frankly, he let Stuart Broad get into his head and he thought way too much about it," Langer said.
It reminded Langer of Adam Gilchrist's struggles against Andrew Flintoff in the 2005 Ashes, and a rare occasion where Steve Waugh had failed against South Africa.
"The guy had been a run machine for so long, he got out just before stumps and I , in a sick sort of way, thought it was the best thing I'd ever seen because I didn't think great players had lean runs," Langer said.
"I used to have lean runs all the time but even great players have lean runs and I'm sure David - we know he's a very good player, there's no question about that - but he had it tough, particularly against Stuart Broad."
Langer, who used to struggle against Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, said it was difficult to get out of a rut mid series against a great bowler.
"I used to have it against Murali and I couldn't solve the issue and it's so hard when you try to problem solve and then you're in the middle of a big series trying to solve the puzzle," Langer said.
"In this instance I don't think David solved the puzzle, and he'll be first to admit that, he'll probably be very relieved he gets on the Qantas flight in a day's time and doesn't have to face Stuart Broad for a while, I reckon. There's plenty of upside still to his batting."
- SMH/The Age
