Can aussies hit back?

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Australia are pondering whether to recall controversial batsman David Warner for their must-win third Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford starting on Thursday.
Top-order batting has long been Australia’s Achilles heel and so it proved in a crushing 347-run second Test defeat at Lord’s, where the tourists were skittled out for just 128 in their first innings.
England lead the five-match series 2-0 and Australia need to win in Manchester if their hopes of regaining the Ashes are not to be extinguished — a drawn series would see holders England retain the urn. Warner missed the first two Tests of the current series having been suspended in the run-up to the Ashes for punching England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar after Australia lost a Champions Trophy match to their arch-rivals last month.
A middle order berth could be found for Warner if Australia drop Phil Hughes or Steven Smith fails to recover in time from a back injury that saw him miss training Tuesday. Australia’s batsmen, none of whom including world class strokeplayer and captain Michael Clarke, have yet made a hundred this Ashes, are assailed by conflicting advice, be it “play your natural game” or “bat time”.
For Rogers, who has scored just 89 runs in four innings this series, the example of former Australia opener Justin Langer, a team-mate at Western Australia, is one he hopes to follow in Manchester. “It’s just to fight,” Rogers said Tuesday. “There were times playing at WA, and we weren’t doing so well, and that was Justin Langer’s motto.”
Rogers added: “You’ve got to fight as hard as you can, try to stay out there and not surrender your wicket — which we’ve probably been doing a little bit too easily.”
It was no great surprise when James Pattinson, who played at Lord’s, was ruled out of the rest of the tour with a stress fracture of the back. Jackson Bird and left-armer Mitchell Starc are vying to replace Pattinson while, given Old Trafford’s reputation for ‘turning’ pitches, Australia also have some tricky decisions regarding spin bowling.
England have called up left-armer Monty Panesar into their squad to supplement the off-breaks of Graeme Swann, joint leading bowler in the series alongside England spearhead James Anderson with 13 wickets. Complacency and Kevin Pietersen’s calf-injury appear to be England’s two biggest problems. Dealing with the complacency point, Anderson, on his Lancashire home ground, said: “We have to concentrate on winning this game and not looking too far ahead in the series.”
Meanwhile Leicestershire’s James Taylor, called up as cover for Pietersen, made a 100 against Australia in a practice match last week.