David Warner has rubbished suggestions he and Steve Smith are gearing up for their last Test match, labelling claims they are set to retire immediately at The Oval as a joke.
Australia are preparing for their biggest match in four years this week, desperate to become the first tourists since Steve Waugh’s men in 2001 to win the Ashes in England.
But the lead-up to the fifth Test has been hijacked by whispers that Australia’s two most senior players are on their way out, with an Ashes series victory the perfect exit point.
That rumour was further perpetuated by former England captain Michael Vaughan on Tuesday, who said on Fox Cricket he had heard it would be the pair’s last Test.
The comments have raised eyebrows in Australia’s change room, with Warner vehemently denying the suggestion when fronting the media ahead of Thursday’s Test.
(Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images)
“And Smithy (is retiring) too apparently. So obviously it’s a joke,” Warner said.
“I won’t take that too seriously … I don’t have an announcement.”
Warner has already flagged his intention to retire after the SCG Test against Pakistan in January, and confirmed on Tuesday there had been no change to that plan.
The 36-year-old also made clear there had been no consideration of going out early at The Oval, as his former captain Michael Clarke did eight years ago.
“No, not at all,” Warner responded when asked if he had considered retiring immediately.
“This is about us as a team. And if we win, it’s about a team celebrating and that’s what we’re here for.
“For me it’s about winning the series. I came here last time – it was a draw. Hopefully we can go away with a series win and then that’ll be a fitting Ashes campaign for us.
“We’re here as a group and we’re united and hopefully we can achieve that.”
Warner conceded on Tuesday he had left runs on the field during this Ashes series, having averaged 25.12 with a top score of 66.
But he also maintains that he has batted with the right attacking approach, valuing the fact he and Usman Khawaja had put on three half-century opening stands.
While Warner has been clear in his retirement plans, Smith has long refused to give anything definitive on his future.
The 34-year-old said earlier this month he was still enjoying the game and had no plan to walk away while still scoring runs.
“While I am enjoying myself and feel like I can improve and contribute to the team, and feel good about helping the team, then I will keep playing,” Smith said after the second Test.
“(What’s left to achieve) is not really part of my thinking. I am feeling good at the moment, so no dramas here.”
Warner endorsed Matt Renshaw as the man to replace him as Australia’s next Test opener, as selectors prepare for a significant period of change in coming years.
Fellow opener Usman Khawaja will turn 37 in December, Smith’s future is uncertain, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood are 33 and 32, while Nathan Lyon has signalled plans to continue long term despite being 35.
Their impending exits make the next phase of Australian cricket crucial, with officials desperate to avoid the struggles that came in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
But as far as Warner is concerned, the talent is there for the top of the order with Renshaw a man who could potentially take his spot in all formats.
“I’ve always said Matt Renshaw is a very good player,” Warner said.
“He can play both formats quite easily. He’s tall. He’s exactly like Haydos (Matt Hayden). We spoke about him in the early part of his career.
Matt Renshaw. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
“I’ve always felt and held him in high regard as a very good player. He’s worked on his technique. He’s been in and out of the squads, and I think he’ll be a great replacement.”
Renshaw made his Australian return in the middle order last summer after debuting in 2016, and was part of the squad for the Ashes before being cut free earlier this month.
Marcus Harris also has a front-row seat to vie for the position, with Warner stating he was excited to see how the Victoria opener took the opportunity.
Cameron Bancoft is often regarded as another option for the role, but was completely overlooked for the Ashes tour.
Warner is adamant though that Australia must get their combination right, including having one patient opener to go with a faster-scoring one in Renshaw.
With that in mind, he likes South Australian Henry Hunt and Queenslander Bryce Street as players who could one day replace Khawaja.
“We’ve always had someone who’s been up the other end to actually soak up some of the pressure and bat normally,” Warner said.
“I’m not sure who that might be, but know Hunty and Bryce are well at home so there are two guys that have been looked at for A series.
“They’re probably good players to fit that sort of mould. But yeah, I think there’s a there’s a few guys that are there ready to come in.”
Will Pucovski, with one Test under his belt, is another option but his career has been hampered by concussion layoffs and mental health breaks in recent years.
Joe Root of England attempts a ramp shot off. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Joe Root’s suggestion that playing time for Tests in England should be extended late into the night has been slammed by former Australian captain Ricky Ponting.
The England star was bemoaning the fact his team was denied a chance to win the fourth Test due to rain in Manchester and floated the idea that the allowed playing time should be until as late as 10pm because it can still be light enough for play in summer in that part of the world.
“It doesn’t get dark here in England until 10 pm in the summer, why can’t we just play until we bowl the overs?” Root said.
Ponting told the ICC Review that the laws of the game can’t be tweaked just because it helps certain teams when it suits them.
“You can’t just choose to change the laws of the game whenever you want to,” he said. “I’m sure there have been times when England have wanted to not get back out there and play themselves. I mean, that’s just a ridiculous thing to say.
“It’s not like it’s the first time it (rain ending play) happened. I reckon there was the exact reverse of this happening in 2013 when Australia were pushing for a win and the last couple of days of one of those Test matches got washed out.
“When you’re playing Test matches over five days, the weather will come into it at some stage.”
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Jonny Bairstow’s terse press conference after his 99 not out on day three at Manchester has been lampooned by former England batter Mark Butcher.
Bairstow was in a fiery mood after speaking publicly for the first time since the stumping incident at the second Test at Lord’s and hit back at his critics for questioning whether he deserved selection.
The error-prone keeper pointed to the fact that he had been told he may not be able to walk properly again after breaking his leg last year let alone return to professional sport.
The Final Word podcast co-host Adam Collins said Bairstow did not want to be interviewed by Sky Sports commentator Kumar Sangakkara after the day’s play because the former Sri Lankan wicketkeeping great had been critical of his footwork this series.
Butcher described Bairstow’s performance when he fronted the media a short time later as “the press conference of the millennium”.
“That’s why the press conference was absolute gold because he basically vindicated all of the criticism that we were throwing their way before the series started, which was that he couldn’t possibly be fit and ready enough to keep wicket,” Butcher said on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
“He hadn’t done it for ages, and that gamble might prove to be costly. He basically went out there and threw the entire selection panel under the bus by saying he wasn’t ready. That’s why I found it very amusing.
“The problem from the start for all of the critics, all of us lot, was him keeping wicket, and he basically went out there and told everybody ‘yeah, that was a massive problem and I wasn’t very good at it’.
“I was crying with laughter watching the whole thing. But fair play to him, what an innings. And, he did catch a blinder didn’t he?
“He caught a terrific catch to get rid of Mitch Marsh. He’s always likely to do something like that. He’s a terrific sports person, a terrific ball player. Yes, he had to go through hell and work unbelievably hard to get himself back, and no, I don’t think anybody kind of denies that it was hard.
“But the criticism was that he probably shouldn’t have been doing it. And he agrees.”
with AAP
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