With his place under threat entering the Ashes tour, David Warner has revealed he plans to retire from Test cricket at home this summer.
Warner, 36, has been an integral part of the Australian men’s Test side since 2011, but has struggled for consistent runs in the past 18 months, either side of a sparkling double century against South Africa at the MCG in his 100th match.
David Warner.Credit: Getty Images
Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald recently moved to quell speculation about Warner’s future by indicating that the national selectors viewed him as a key part of the team for both the World Test Championship final against India, to begin on Wednesday at the Oval, and the Ashes series to follow.
But Warner’s indication that he will call time on his Test career at home serves to further clarify matters. Across his past 19 Tests since the onset of COVID-19, Warner has cobbled just 914 runs at 29.48, against a career mark of 45.57.
As importantly, Warner’s scoring rate over that period has dipped below 60 runs per 100 balls, a surprisingly sedate figure for one of the world’s most feared enforcers at the top of the batting order.
“You’ve got to score runs. I’ve always said the [2024] World Cup would probably be my final game,” Warner told reporters in Beckenham, on London’s outskirts, on Saturday.
“I probably owe it to myself and my family – if I can score runs here and continue to play back in Australia – I can definitely say I won’t be playing that West Indies series.
“If I can get through this [WTC final and Ashes] and make the Pakistan series I will definitely finish up then.”
Perhaps not since Steve Waugh announced his intention to retire from Tests at the outset of the 2003-04 summer has an Australian cricketer of similar standing shaped to give themselves such a long final lap when their place has come under question.
Typically, a senior player will indicate their intention to retire a few days before their final game, so often the New Year’s Test in Sydney. Another recent exception was Warner’s former opening partner Chris Rogers, who made it clear well beforehand that the 2015 Ashes tour would be his last.
Australia’s team to England features numerous players very much at the back end of their Test careers, from Warner and Usman Khawaja at the top of the order, to Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood.
Alongside Warner, the touring party also features the back-up openers Marcus Harris (who also toured England in 2019) and Matt Renshaw.
More to come
