Warner’s Last Test at Lord’s Reshapes Retirement Plans

A years-long glorifying cricket journey is on its way to an end. On January 3, Australia and Pakistan will lock horns in the third Test match of the series in Sydney. This is going to be David Warner’s last Test match. He will retire from the longest form of cricket after that match. Before heading to the last Test match of his career, he opened up about many things including a very interesting one. 

Warner’s Tough Decision:

David Warner has always been a strong pillar of the Aussie batting lineup. His cricket excellence has always been a big asset to the team. After winning the World Test Championship in 2023, he announced his retirement from the Test format. He said that he would retire from the longest format of cricket after playing the Test series against Pakistan.

Now, he is on his way to bid goodbye to Test cricket. The Sydney Cricket Ground will witness Warner’s excellence in red-ball cricket for the last time. But before playing in the World Test Championship, there was a different scenario in Warner’s head. He was in the thought of retiring from Test cricket after the second Test match of the Ashes series against Lord’s.

While talking about this matter, Warner said, “I said quite clearly in England before the World Test Championship, there was a lot of talk about me and my form, I wanted to nip it in the bud early, I said my ideal preparation to finish would be Sydney. But I actually had Lord’s penciled in as my last Test, especially if I didn’t go as well as I did as a partnership with Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) at the top of the order. “

Further, he added, “ Then from there it just followed on that 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 bit, so to get this ending is awesome, but it’s not about me, it’s about us. We’ve won the series, but to win 3-0 and have a whitewash here at the SCG would be a great thing for the team.”

Warner’s Goodbye to Test Cricket:

The third and final Test of the Test series against Pakistan is on the way. After winning the first two matches of the Test series, Australia already won the Test series. But the story of the Sydney Test will be a little different. As Warner is on his way to retiring from the Test format, the match will be emotional for him and the whole Australian team. All of them will try to make Warner’s final goodbye to the format memorable.   

Before heading to the match, he said, “If you’re down 2-0, and you go into that third one, and you lose that, I don’t think it’s the right choice to make [to keep playing]. It’s an easy exit,” he said. “For me, a second was if I was failing and we hadn’t won, then it would have been an easier decision.”

Then he added, “I didn’t want to put the team or the selectors in a position where they had to think about, ‘mate, it’s time to push on’. It was more about me just going, ‘I’m content with that. I’m happy with it, I’ve had a great career. But if I could still do my best and bat well with Uzzie and put us into a good position…I could do that for the rest of the series.”

And it will be the end. The end is always emotional for everyone. The scenario will be the same for David Warner also. The ending becomes more special because Warner is in excellent form. He is ending his Test career on high. He said, “When I looked at Lord’s as a potential finish, I didn’t really have many emotions because I was content,” he said. “I might not have been scoring runs, but I still had the desire to play Test cricket. I love the game of cricket, it doesn’t matter what format I’m playing. But definitely, it’s been emotional since Perth, since I’ve been back in Australia, and knowing that I’m playing my final Test.”

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