PERTH, Australia, Dec 13 (AFP): David Warner will take centre stage when the three-match series against Pakistan begins on Thursday ahead of what is expected to be the Australian opener's farewell to Test cricket.
The 37-year-old has indicated that he plans to quit the five-day game after the third Test at his home Sydney Cricket Ground early next year.
Warner has been a mainstay of the Australian team for more than a decade but his Test form is under intense scrutiny, scoring just one century since early 2020.
Former team-mate Mitchell Johnson has said that he does not deserve to dictate the terms of his exit.
Querying why Warner should be given a "hero's send-off" in light of his poor Test form, former fast bowler Johnson wrote in a newspaper column: "Can somebody please tell me why?" Johnson also brought up Warner's central role in the notorious "Sandpaper-gate" ball-tampering scandal in 2018.
In naming the Australia squad for the opening Test in Perth, chief selector George Bailey said that Warner had earned his place.
But there are no guarantees beyond the first Test, putting Warner under pressure to score runs if he wants to go out on his own terms with an emotional send-off in Sydney.
"Davey's playing the first Test match and we'll go from there," said coach Andrew McDonald. "Until we have to make that decision it'll continue to I suppose bubble away and the speculation will be there."
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