Warner no certainty for fairytale Test farewell

Australian Test captain Pat Cummins has suggested David Warner’s impending retirement from red ball cricket will not influence selection for the upcoming home Test series against Pakistan.

Selectors will meet and choose their squad in the coming weeks for the three-Test series, which kicks off on December 14 in Perth.

Warner has long suggested that he plans to retire after the third Test against Pakistan on his home ground, the SCG, in January, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll make it that far.

“Team’s not picked yet, selectors will pick it after this Shield round so we’ll wait and see,” Cummins told media on Tuesday.

Pat Cummins and David Warner celebrate winning the World Cup in India with teammates.

Despite remaining tight-lipped on who will make the cut, Cummins heaped praise on Warner’s recent form at the World Cup, where Australia downed India to win the final by six wickets.

“It can’t hurt (being in form). Any player’s a better player when they’re going in with confidence to the game, so I thought he (Warner) was brilliant this World Cup, like he has been with the white ball for a long period of time,” he said.

“Again, he wasn’t just playing for himself out there, he’d go and take the game on, be brave, put it back on the opposition, I think he’s hitting the ball beautifully at the moment.”

As for a possible Test send-off, Cummins said Warner’s confidence with the bat still doesn’t guarantee him a spot come the summer.

“He’s a great of our game in all formats, no doubt that’s part of it,” he said.

Warner has found the going tough in red ball cricket over the last few years

“(But) first and foremost you always think of the performance side of things when you’re picking a side.

Australian coach Andrew McDonald also refused to guarantee a spot for the 37-year-old opener.

“That will all be decided later this week,” McDonald told SEN on Tuesday.

“Like any other decision, (it’s about) working out who is the best player for that position at that point in time.

“I think with Test cricket it’s really clear, you don’t necessarily need to future-proof things too much. With a cycle with a World Cup, One Day or T20, there’s an element of ‘OK, what are we looking for to build to get to that grand final?’, whereas, we see every Test match as important in terms of the direction of Australian cricket.”

The Test summer kicks off on December 14 in Perth, when Australia take on Pakistan in the first of a three-Test series.