Warner claims he feels emotional about quitting Test cricket in Sydney and that he would have retired during the Ashes if he hadn’t scored runs at Lord’s.
After the second Ashes series game at Lord’s last year, David Warner said he was ready to give up on Test cricket if he did not make any runs.
While acknowledging that form would still be a factor, Warner had stated his intention to retire in this week’s Sydney Test at the start of the England tour, which was held in front of the World Test Championship final against India. Additionally, the Ashes team was first picked by the selectors for just the first two Tests at Edgbaston, Lord’s.
Now, on the eve of his last Test match against Pakistan, he explained how, had he not felt that he was making a difference for the team, Lord’s might have been his swansong.
“I said quite clearly in England before the World Test Championship, 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,” Warner stated on Monday. “However, if I didn’t perform as well as I did in a partnership with Uzzie [Usman Khawaja] at the top of the order, I had Lord’s scheduled as my final Test.
“After that, we simply continued to play some excellent innings together. That hundred [in England] that I’d always desired but never quite managed to get my hands on. However, we all performed our part as a team, so getting to this conclusion is fantastic; it’s not about me, it’s about us. Although we have won the series, it would be fantastic for the team to win 3-0 and have a clean sheet at the SCG.”
As things turned out, Warner scored 9 and 36 in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston after making an important 43 on the first day of the WTC final at The Oval, when Australia defeated India. However, he only made 1 in the second day of play. On the first day of play at Lord’s, he backed that up with a crucial 66 in challenging batting circumstances.
He and Usman Khawaja put together three half-century partnerships throughout the first two Ashes Tests. After that, Warner scored another half-century in the series’ last game at The Oval, partnering with Khawaja for 140 runs. Warner started this home season with 164 against Pakistan in the first Test in Perth.
Warner maintained that he was always confident in his abilities and just wanted to do what was best for the team.
I don’t think it’s the proper decision to play on if you’re down 2-0 and you go into the third one and lose that. It’s a simple way out “said he. “It would have been simpler for me to decide to do so if I had been failing and we hadn’t won.
“I did not want to place the selectors or the team in a situation where they would have to tell themselves,’mate, it’s time to move on.'” More than anything, I was simply like, “I’m fine with that.” I’m content with it; my career has been fantastic. However, I could play well with Uzzie and put us in a strong position if I continued to give it my all for the remainder of the series.”
Since the beginning of the series against Pakistan, Warner said, his feelings on the end of his Test career have intensified.
“When I looked at Lord’s as a potential finish, I didn’t really have many emotions because I was content,” he stated. “Even though I wasn’t making runs, I still wanted to play Test cricket. No matter what format I play, I adore the game of cricket. Undoubtedly, though, since returning to Australia and learning that I’m playing [my final Test], everything has been emotional, especially after Perth.
“Achieving that 160 and placing the team in a great position was made especially evident when passersby approached and congratulated us, saying, ‘Well done, we support you, we back you.'” It has great significance. That’s when the feelings most likely began.”
In response to the question of how he wanted to be remembered as a Test cricket player, he responded that he had “given his all”.
“A boy from housing commission having a dream,” he stated. “I haven’t always been the type, but I’ve always been sincere and real.and I believe that comes through in the way I’ve played on the cricket field during Test matches. Even the lap shots I play are similar to my T20 cricket shots. Even after this final test, I’m still doing everything I can to improve. I want to score runs badly.
I just want to leave behind that you can go out and play the way you want to play and that it’s no different than any other game. You are free to play; if you’d like, you can perform reverse sweeps like Joe Root. You must have faith and confidence in yourself because you are capable of doing that.”
