David Warner has on Saturday confirmed his Test cricket retirement plans.
Speaking to reporters in London ahead of next week’s World Test Championship final, Warner said his hope was to finish his Test career with a farewell match at the SCG against Pakistan in January 2024.
The schedule for the 2023-24 Australian summer of cricket was revealed last month, with two Tests against the West Indies to follow the Pink Test against Pakistan.
But Warner put a red line through playing in either of those two Tests against West Indies while also expressing his desire to focus on the game’s shorter formats.
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“You’ve got to score runs,” Warner told reporters, per cricket.com.au.
“I’ve always said the [2024] World Cup would probably be my final game. 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.”
Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw, who both feature in the Australian squad for England, are among contenders to replace Warner at the top of the order.
Warner in January had revealed both he and opening partner Usman Khawaja had agreed not to retire at the same time so as to not leaving Australia in a difficult position.
“We’re going to enjoy the next 12 months, enjoy it as much as we can,’’ Warner told Fox Cricket at the time.
“For us it’s about not leaving this team with a big hole. I know through those five-year transition periods when a lot of the greats left, they’re big holes to fill with the amount of games you play.
“We always talk about games played and how much that means into a team’s performance and perspective with experience. You can’t fill that void.”
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For now, Warner’s focus remains on the upcoming WTC final and later the Ashes series, with Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald backing him to play “a really significant part”.
“We’re optimistic with what Dave’s got left,” McDonald told SEN radio late last month, responding to question marks surrounding Warner’s immediate future on the side.
“We’ve picked him in the squad and we feel that he’s going to play a really significant part in the Ashes and the World Test Championship final, and that’s why he’s on the plane.
“We think he’s got some good games left in him.”
While Warner made Australia’s 17-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests and the preceding WTC final, selectors have kept their options open beyond that.
McDonald said that Warner was in “a good head space”.
“He’s an important part of that squad,” McDonald said.
“If he wasn’t, then we would have had a clear checkpoint after the first Test match or the World Test Championship going into the Ashes, but that’s not the case.
“He’s clearly in our plans and he’s ready to go, and we’re in constant contact with him,” he added.