Will Warner get his ‘Steve Waugh moment’ in his final Test summer?
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Cricket’s free-to-air broadcaster has urged the national selectors to do the right thing and give David Warner the chance to produce his own “Steve Waugh moment” in his final summer of Test cricket.
Batting great Warner, should he be selected, plans to finish his high-voltage Test career against Pakistan in the traditional New Year’s Test on his home turf of the SCG.
Farewell to a great: David Warner, with the Mullagh Medal after being awarded player of the match in the Boxing Day Test last summer, will say goodbye to red-ball cricket.Credit: Getty Images
However, while the robust left-hander is expected to be selected for the three-Test series, beginning in Perth on December 14 and then extending into the marquee event of the summer, the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, he is no lock.
Warner, 37, managed only 285 runs at 28.5 in the winter’s Ashes tour, continuing a largely modest two years in red-ball cricket.
His form, though, during the winning World Cup in India was strong, including two centuries, so it’s unlikely he will be dropped from the Test side, despite the strong start to the domestic summer of former Test teammate Cameron Bancroft.
Lewis Martin, the head of sport at Seven, said the network was confident Warner – a ratings winner when in form – will be selected.
“The country leans in when we see Davey Warner step over the white rope with a bat in his hand. That’s why we believe he is going to be a big part of the summer,” Martin said.
“We remain hopeful, we would like to think we are confident, and we want to be there every step of the way, that Davey is going to play a part in the Test summer. No doubt, Pakistan will be doing everything they can do to ruin the party.
“When he steps over that rope, he is going to give it everything. Do I think he is going to play? We certainly hope he is going to be selected for those reasons.”
Waugh, the former Australian captain and, like Warner, aged 37 at the time, was under immense pressure heading into the fifth and final Ashes Test of 2002-03. It shaped as his last Test unless he conjured a century – and that’s what he did, famously reaching three figures on the final ball of play on day two. He played on for another year.
Warner will want to finish his career in the typically blazing manner that has made him one of the greats of the game.
“We have ridden every wave with Davey, so why not ride the final one?” Martin said.
“Are we hoping for a Steve Waugh century on the last ball of play? Of course, we are. There is no certainty to that. The game of cricket is one ball away from an ending. The certainty we have with David Warner is when he steps over that rope, he is heart and soul for his country.”
Warner’s manager James Erskine said his client was ready to handle what shapes as an emotional farewell to Test cricket.
“He said he is going to retire from Test cricket, but he likes the idea of carrying on [in white-ball cricket], maybe even playing in the next World Cup, in 2027. We’ll just have to see,” Erskine said.
Erskine didn’t rule out Warner delivering a final innings for the ages.
“That’s in the lap of the gods. Who knows? The Steve Waugh things don’t happen very often. It would be nice – but who knows,” he said.
Victorian Marcus Harris and Queenslander Matthew Renshaw are also gunning to reactivate their Test careers at the top of the order this summer. Australia have two home Tests against the West Indies once the Pakistan series is over.
Warner, a veteran of 109 Tests, has returned home from two months in India, resting with his family ahead of the national selectors naming the Test squad.
In a year when Seven enjoyed bumper ratings when the country rallied around the Matildas in their home World Cup, Martin hopes the men’s cricket team is given the support it deserves after a campaign where the Ashes were retained in England, and sixth one-day international World Cup title was secured.
“This is green and gold. The Matildas were green and gold. Test cricket is part of our summer song. This team has been through a lot together, and I think they have done their country proud, and their country is proud of them, after what they have achieved. I think we are going to celebrate that over the summer,” Martin said.
After a turbulent relationship with Cricket Australia through the pandemic-impacted seasons which led to legal proceedings, Martin said Seven’s relationship with the sport’s governing body was “as strong as ever”, coming in a summer when the network had its wish for a shortened men’s Big Bash League met.
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