Australian batsman David Warner has no plans to retire from Test cricket, his agent has said the cricketer is reconsidering his stance after calls from former players. Warner went for a duck and took three wickets in the first Test against South Africa in Brisbane as the hosts won by six wickets in two days. He last scored a Test century in January 2020 and before the first Test against the Proteas had scores of 5, 48, 21 and 28 in four innings this summer. But Warner’s agent, James Erskine, said he did not believe the opener would quit Test cricket at the end of the three-Test series against the Proteas in Sydney.
“No, it won’t be his last test, I don’t think. It’s new to me if that’s the case,” Erskine was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.
Erskine added that Warner was eyeing the India tour and England’s 2023 Ashes.
Warner will become the 14th Australian to reach the 100-Test milestone when he plays the Boxing Day Test. His average in 10 Tests this year is under 21, but Erskine believed the runs are rolling in for the 36-year-old.
“Personally I think there are escapes for him. We’ll see what happens. It’s a big thing from Davey’s (Warner) point of view that he’s got three young kids.
“If your basic situation is that you have to be out for nine months, or eight months of the year, that’s brutal. That will be the decision, I think, depending on how it ends.
“He has many other interests besides cricket, but there has been no talk about that (retirement),” added Erskine.
Erskine believed Warner’s good delivery from South African bowler Kagiso Rabada in the opening Test in Brisbane did the trick.
“He’s had a couple of brutal balls (from Rabada). At the end of the day, everyone goes through that silence. You have to take his career across the board,” Erskine said.
“If you talk to all the big players there, they say he’s a great player. We’ll have to see if he comes back in Melbourne. He’s a pretty tough nut to crack, old David. I don’t think so. (The run drought) is necessarily a concern,” Erskin added.
Former Australian all-rounder Simon O’Donnell recently said that Warner is not the Test player he used to be until about two years ago and the strongman should retire at the end of the Sydney Test.
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