‘I think that’s a massive achievement’: David Warner reveals World Cup final was his last ODI game for Australia
The David Warner farewell tour has just got a whole lot bigger, with the veteran opener making another big announcement.
David Warner has dropped a bombshell on the eve of his final Test match, with the veteran Australian opener revealing the World Cup final in India last November was his last 50-over match for his country.
The 37-year-old retires as Australia’s sixth-leading run-scorer in ODI cricket, with his 22 centuries behind only Ricky Ponting, who smashed 29 having had an extra 205 innings.
It brings an end to a career that started almost 15 years ago, with Warner bowing out having scored the most runs for Australia (535) at last year’s World Cup, including centuries against Pakistan and the Netherlands.
The news comes just two days before Warner’s final Test against Pakistan at the SCG, with his sudden retirement set to leave a gaping hole at the top given his ability to get Australia off to flying starts.
“I’m definitely retiring from one-day cricket as well,” he said, confirming he’ll continue playing T20 leagues around the world.
“That was something that I had said through the World Cup, get through that, and winning it in India, I think that’s a massive achievement.
“So I’ll make that decision today, to retire from those forms, which does allow me to go and play some other leagues around the world and sort of get the one-day team moving forward a little bit.
“I know there’s a Champions Trophy coming up. If I’m playing decent cricket in two years’ time and I’m around and they need someone, I’m going to be available.”
Warner thought there may have been some other players ready to step down from the ODI squad following the historic World Cup win in India where they bounced back from two early losses to stun the hosts in the final.
“It was a decision that I was very, very comfortable with. To win in India, from where we were, was absolutely amazing,” he said.
“The team, not just under the leadership of Patty but the coach Andrew McDonald himself, everything’s just so calm and relaxed inside the team.
“We go out there, we’re adults, we back ourselves to train to the best of our ability and then go out there and perform. There’s never any added pressure, it’s the same-old, come in, get what you have to get done. We love winning.
“When we lost two games in a row in India, the bond just got stronger with each other and it’s not by fluke or by chance that we were able to get to where we were.
“The heroics of Maxi (Glenn Maxwell), the captaincy and the skills and execution of the way that we played against India was phenomenal, and not to dismiss the Kolkata semi-final as well.”
Warner also revealed that he was set to retire from Test cricket after the second Ashes Test at Lord’s last year but stayed on as Australia retained the Urn despite him scoring just two half-centuries in the series.
“The second Test match, going into a five-match series, is probably out. If you’re down 2-0, and you go into that third one, and you lose that, I don’t think it’s the right choice to make (to keep picking him). It’s an easy exit,” he said.
“For me, a second one was if I was failing and we hadn’t won, then it would have been an easier decision. I didn’t want to put the team or the selectors in a position where they had to think about, ‘mate, it’s time to push on’.
“It was more about me just going, ‘I’m content with that. I’m happy with it, I’ve had a great career’. If I could still do my best and bat well with Uzzie (Usman Khawaja) and put us into a good position, I think I could do that for the rest of the series.“
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