'Mature' Warner keen to grab ODI chance

David Warner is confident he is much better prepared for one-day international cricket than he was when he last played for Australia more than two years ago. Warner has been picked in the ODI squad to take on South Africa in October and he could be auditioning for a long-term role in the side as they embark on the lengthy path to the 2015 World Cup, while he also hopes it could be a stepping stone towards Test cricket.

He last played ODI cricket in a one-off match against Scotland in August 2009, after making six other appearances earlier that year during the home summer. Warner didn't grasp his one-day opportunities, and by his own admission struggled to adjust from Twenty20 to the 50-over format, but he has now developed so much that he was a standby player in the Test squad during the recent series in Sri Lanka.

"I'm definitely more mature this time around," Warner said after learning of his call-up while in India playing for New South Wales in the Champions League. "I know what I've got to do and I know what to expect. I know the opposition that we're coming up against and I know exactly what I could be up against with Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn. I've just got to go out there and play the way I play and hopefully I can score some runs.

"Back then [in 2009] ... I thought I had to go out there and play the way I did in the Twenty20, like I did in my debut. It all just went so quickly. Now I've realised what one-day cricket is all about: setting the tone from the start and trying to make your way to the latter part of the overs. I've learnt a lot in the last couple of years, speaking to the likes of Michael Clarke and Shane Watson about one-day cricket has helped me a lot."

Warner's recent form was described by the outgoing chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch as "irresistible" and it's hard to disagree. After finishing the Sheffield Shield season with a century in Perth, he headed to Zimbabwe with Australia A and made 152 in a practice match, 120 in a one-day game and 211 in a first-class match.

"It was a thrill for me to get picked for Australia A in the four-day stuff as well, and to put runs on the board there was a fantastic opportunity for me to show the selectors what I can do and show everyone else that I'm not just a T20 specialist. I'm thoroughly going to take this opportunity into the one-dayers and the Twenty20s and score more runs, and hopefully get a Test spot in the near future."

The Australians head to South Africa in early October, ahead of two Twenty20s and three one-day internationals. The squad for the two Tests that follow in November will be announced in the coming weeks.