Australian opener David Warner revealed on Monday he was ready to walk away from Test cricket after the second Ashes Test at Lord's last year if he had not scored runs. Warner will bid farewell to the game's longest format with the third Test against Pakistan at his home arena Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). At the start of the tour to Britain ahead of the ICC World Test Championship final against India, Warner had made clear his intention to withdraw from the Whites at his home stadium, but he also said that he would form a would play a role.
During that time, the selectors had also initially named the squad for the first two Ashes Tests only, according to ESPNCricinfo.
Ahead of the final Test against Pakistan, Warner talked about how the Lord's Test could have been his farewell had he felt he was not contributing to the team.
“I said very clearly in England before the World Test Championship that there was a lot of talk about me and my form. [and] I wanted to nip it in the bud early, I said my ideal preparation to finish would be Sydney. But I actually penciled in Lord's as my final test, especially if I didn't do as well as partnering with Uzzie [Usman Khawaja] at the top of the order,” said Warner, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
In the match at Lord's, which Australia won, Warner scored 66 and 25 in both innings. He had also made an important 43 in the first innings of the WTC final, setting the tone for the ages by Travis Head and Steve Smith. But the first Ashes Test was mixed as he could only score nine and 36 at Edgbaston.
In the first two Ashes Tests, Warner had three valuable half-century stands with Usman Khawaja and in the final Test at The Oval he put on a 140-run stand with Khawaja. The big hundred came in the first Pakistan Test in Perth, scoring 164 and silencing all his critics.
“From that moment on we played some good innings together. I didn't have that hundred [in England] that I always wanted, but eluded me. But as a team and as a whole we did our part, so it's great to get to this end, but it's not about me, it's about us. We won the series but to win 3-0 and have a whitewash here at the SCG would be great for the team,” he added.
Warner said he never doubted his abilities but wanted to make the best decision for the best interest of the team.
“If you're 2-0 down and you go into that third and you lose it, I don't think it's the right thing to do. [to keep playing]. It's an easy exit. One second for me [reason] If I failed and we didn't win, it would have been an easier decision,” Warner said.
“I didn't want to put the team or the selectors in a position where they had to think, 'mate, it's time to move on'. It was more about me just saying, 'I'm happy with that.' I'm happy with it, I've had a great career.' But if I could still do my best and play well with Uzzie and put us in a good position… I could do that for the rest of the series,” he added.
The opener admitted his emotions surrounding his Test retirement have grown in recent weeks.
“When I looked at Lord's as a possible finish, I didn't really have many emotions because I was satisfied. I may not have scored runs, but I still had the desire to play Test cricket. I love the game of cricket, it makes no matter what format I'm playing in. But it's definitely been emotional since Perth, since I've been back in Australia and knowing I'm playing [my final Test],” he said.
“Achieving that 160, which put us in a great position for the team, was a real bull's eye as people came up on the street and said, 'Well done, we support you, we support you'. really means a lot. The emotions probably started then,” the batter added.
On how he wants to be remembered as a Test player, Warner said as someone “who gave everything”.
“A housing committee boy who has a dream. I haven't always lived up to the standards but I've been authentic and honest… and I think that shows you on the field of Test cricket, I've played exactly the same .I even play lap shots like I do in T20 cricket. I'm still trying my best to get better even in this last Test. I'm hungry to score runs,” Warner said.
“It's no different to any other game and I just want to leave you with the fact that you can go out and play the way you want to play. You can play with freedom, you can play reverse sweeps like Joe Root if you want. have the ability to do that and you have to trust yourself and believe in yourself,” he concluded.
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