Australian batting stalwart David Warner has no plans to retire from Test cricket, his agent has said following calls from some former players that the cricketer review his stance.
Warner was out for duck and scored three runs in the first Test against South Africa at Brisbane, which the hosts won by six wickets inside two days. He last scored a Test century in January 2020 and prior to the first Test against the Proteas he had scores of 5, 48, 21 and 28 in the four innings this summer.
But Warner’s agent, James Erskine, said he didn’t believe the opener will quit Test cricket at the conclusion of the three-Test series against the Proteas at Sydney.
“No, it won’t be his last Test, I don’t think. It’s news to me if that’s the case,” Erskine was quoted as saying by Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
Erskine added Warner had the tour of India and the 2023 Ashes in England in his sights.
Warner will become the 14th Australian to achieve the 100-Test landmark when he plays the Boxing Day Test. His average in 10 Tests this year is less than 21 but Erskine felt runs are round the corner for the 36-year-old.
“I personally think there’s runs around the corner for him. We’ll just see what happens. The big thing from Davey’s (Warner) point of view is that he has three young children.
“If your basic situation is you have got to be away for nine months, or eight months of the year, it is brutal. That will be the decision, I think, depending on how he ends up.
“He has lots of other interests other than cricket – but there has been no talk about that (retirement),” added Erskine.
Erskine felt Warner was done in by a couple of good deliveries from South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada in the opening Test at Brisbane.
“He has had a couple of brutal balls (from Rabada). At the end of the day, everyone goes through these quiet spells. You have got to take his career across the board,” Erskine said.
“If you talk to all the great players out there, they say he is a great player. We’ll just have to see if he bounces back in Melbourne. He is a pretty tough nut, old David. I don’t think that (run drought) necessarily worries him,” Erskine added.
Former Australian all-rounder Simon O’Donnell had said recently that Warner isn’t the Test player he used to be till about two years back and that the stalwart should possibly retire at the end of the Sydney Test.
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