Warner believes 'could have helped Oz avoid losing Ashes' if not for suspension

Australian Test opener David Warner has said that it is tough to ignore the feeling that had he not missed the first two Tests of the series, he could have helped Australia avoid losing the Ashes.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, as Warner set England's bowlers on the back foot on the fourth and final day of the fourth Test, before all hell broke loose and the tourists collapsed, it was difficult not to escape the thought that the Australians might have shot themselves in the foot by sidelining one of their best batsmen until they were 2-0 down in the series.

The reinstated Test opener was sent off to Africa instead of featuring in the first two Tests, lacking match practice, after the ban slapped on him for a nightclub row with England's Joe Root in Birmingham during the Champions League in June, the report said.

Warner said that Australia was so close in the first Test and he always would think that he could have helped Australia had he been selected.