David Warner leaves fifth on the list of Australia's all-time leading try scorers. Photo: Saeed Khan/AFP
David Warner finished Test cricket in inimitable style, hitting a half-century to lead Australia to victory in the third Test and a clean sweep 3-0 win over Pakistan.
Warner scored 57 off 75 balls. , trailing Australia by 11 to win at the SCG, and leaving to a standing ovation at his home ground. “It meant a lot to me,” he said. “I gave absolutely everything to play this game and sacrificed a lot. There were a lot of ups and downs and I had to come back and overcome adversity. I think I did it very, very well. Today showed me that I really do have a lot of support. I am very grateful and very grateful for that.”
Warner finished his career as Australia's fifth leading scorer with 8,786, with an average of 44 and 26 hundreds. The debate now turns to who will replace him at the top of the order, with Steve Smith this week making a surprise bid for the job as he seeks a new challenge in the final years of his career. All-rounder Cameron Green is another mooted partner for Usman Khawaja, along with Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft, who have been tried and dumped in the past. Replacing Warner will be difficult and there are concerns about depth in cricket.
“I'm very pleased with his (Smith's) performance at number four,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said. “Obviously Marnus (Labuschagne), Smudge (Smith), Trav (Head) and Mitchell Marsh have been pretty impressive in positions 3, 4, 5 and 6, so the first instinct is probably not to ruin it. Obviously it would be very difficult to replicate Davey and what he brought to it. There are some things that remain true in Test cricket and that is that you have to put pressure on your opponents. You have to keep an eye on the scoreboard, but really, if someone scores runs in Shield cricket, it's probably a good sign that they can do it at the next level.”
Australia's next Test begins on January 16 against the West Indies in Adelaide. Warner hopes to play in the Twenty20 World Cup in June before retiring from international cricket. It has been an emotional week for Warner, who was reunited with his baggy green cap after the second day of the SCG Test following an appeal on social media when he realized it had been lost en route from Melbourne. No details have been released about what actually happened to his cap.
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Warner's feisty fifty ensured Australia won a tight Test, with Pakistan resisting in both Melbourne and Sydney after a crushing defeat in the first Test in Perth. Pakistan led Sydney in the first innings and were building a decent target before Josh Hazlewood took three wickets in an over at the end of the third day.
Pakistan could only post 130 and, with Warner's support, ahead of Labuschagne, unbeaten on 62 balls out of 73, it was a cruise to the finish line. As a result, Australia topped the World Test Championship table, with England one place behind.
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