01/09/2009 7:43 AM
From Old Trafford in Manchester to Delhi's Feroz Shahkotla Stadium to Coogee Oval near the beaches of Sydney. They are a sample of the eclectic mix of venues David Warner will be gracing over the next three months.
Such is the life of a player who was plucked from grade cricket to play for his country before establishing himself as a regular for his state.
Currently on international duty with Australia's Twenty20 team, Warner is bracing himself for a return to Sydney club side Eastern Suburbs when New South Wales starts its 2009-10 Sheffield Shield campaign in November.
Even a recall to Australia's one-day side, which will be touring in India in October and November, will merely delay the inevitable as the 22-year-old remains low down the pecking order in NSW's prodigious batting stocks.
Warner, who made his first-class debut in the Blues' final Shield game last season, has not been in touch with state selectors recently but has spoken to coach Matthew Mott about his first-class prospects next season.
From NSW's first-choice top six, only Shane Watson and Michael Clarke are likely to be unavailable due to national duties abroad at the start of the summer.
Ahead of Warner in the race for middle-order positions are players such as highly-rated youngsters Usman Khawaja and Moises Henriques, Ben Rohrer and veteran Dominic Thornely.
Which makes Warner's ultimate goal of playing Test cricket appear a long way away.
"I'm in the one-day side and Twenty20 side but with Phil (Hughes) getting dropped, he's got to obviously come back into the team and Phil Jacques is almost fit as well so with them two blokes it's going to be hard for me to get into the team as well," he said.
"So I've just got to bide my time, start back in grade again. I play for Eastern Suburbs and I love playing with my mates there and it's home and I love being in that comfort zone there."
"If I get the chance to score runs there hopefully I'll put numbers on the board if I get that opportunity."
Warner made 33 in the washed-out match on Sunday when peppered with a series of short balls by England, a tactic he is again expecting on Tuesday.
Breaking back into Australia's 50-over side, however, is Warner's most pressing goal but after being left out of the Champions Trophy squad he will have to wait until the seven-match tour of India in October and November for his next opening.
But he will be a major player in NSW's Champions League Twenty20 campaign on the subcontinent in October.
"If I can submit some good totals on the board, just keep pressing my claims forward and if an injury comes up I'm going to make sure my name's up there at the top of the list to take that," he said.
"If I keep working hard and scoring runs things might happen for me."
"I'm still in the Twenty20s at the moment and still playing for my country. It's still a thrill for myself."
"You can't go from the top of the log and stay at the top of the log for the rest of your career."
"There's going to be setback, this is a setback I see and it's going to be a challenge for myself to raise the bar for the season coming, especially for NSW."