Australia player David Warner will not retire from the longer format at the end of the ongoing South Africa series at home, his agent James Erskine shared, dismissing rumours that suggested Warner might retire from the longest format of the game. Warner has averaged 20.61 in 2022 in Tests, well below his career average of 45 as well. The star opener has hit only 2 fifties and scored 371 runs over 19 innings as well.
“No, it won’t be his last Test, I don’t think. It’s news to me if that’s the case,” James Erskine said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
However, David Warner will join the 100-Test club if he plays the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne against South Africa as well. Questions have been asked about Warner’s place on the Test side. His manager, however, said that the left-handed opener is targeting the tour of India next year and the Ashes as well. Meanwhile, Warner has not had much success in India, scoring 388 runs in 8 matches at an average of 24. He will be tested by India’s spinners in the 4-match Test series, which is also their final battle in the World Test Championship cycle, in February-March.
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“I personally think there are 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 James Erskine.
Meanwhile, David Warner’s manager backed the star opener to bounce back well in Melbourne, saying that he is a tough nut who has seen ups and downs in his long career.
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“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. 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 concluded.
