David Warner confirms Test retirement plans: Revisiting his top-five knocks
David Warner has confirmed that he will retire from Tests in early 2024. The left-handed dasher has planned to draw curtains on his 12-year-long Test career in January next year after playing the Sydney Test match against Pakistan. Warner has been one of the long-serving members of the Australian Test team and his record is also phenomenal. Here we revisit his top-five Test knocks.
123* v New Zealand in 2011
Warner brought up his maiden Test hundred in just his second match in the format. Australia needed to chase 241 against New Zealand in Hobart on a tricky fourth-day pitch. While most of the Aussie batters surrendered, Warner tackled the Kiwi pacers with precision and brought up a fine ton. Though Australia lost by seven runs, Warner remained unbeaten on 123 off 170 balls.
180 vs India in 2012
Warner's second Test came against India in the 2012 Test match in Perth. The track seemed a graveyard for batters as the visitors were bundled out for 161 while batting first. However, Warner put up a batting exhibition and tormented the Indian bowlers. The southpaw was highly aggressive as he smothered a 159-ball 180. His efforts powered the Aussies to an innings victory.
113 vs Pakistan in 2017
Another David Warner special was on display in the 2017 Sydney Test against Pakistan. The swashbuckler went after the bowlers from the outset and brought up his ton before lunch on Day 1. He became just the fifth batter to score a ton in the first session of a Test. Warner ended up scoring a 95-ball 113 as the Aussies won by 220 runs.
335* v Pakistan in 2019
Warner was indeed at his best when Australia hosted Pakistan in Adelaide in 2019. The southpaw tormented a young but potent Pakistan pace attack and scored runs all over the park. He went on to record his maiden triple hundred in the format. The declaration came when he was on 335 off 418 balls. Australia eventually won by an innings and 48 runs.
Twin centuries versus South Africa in 2014
Warner played not one but two scintillating knocks in the Cape Town Test versus South Africa in 2014. The opener tackled the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel with precision and blasted a 152-ball 135 in Australia's first innings. He backed his ton with another fiery knock, 145 off 156 balls, as Australia recorded a mammoth 245-run triumph.
A look at Warner's Test numbers
The southpaw is the seventh-highest run-scorer for Australia in the longest format of the game. He has tallied 8,158 runs in 103 Tests at an average of 45.57. He has hammered 34 fifties and 25 hundreds. Warner had a forgettable series in India earlier this year where he only managed 26 runs in two Tests. Since 2022, he has scored 607 runs at 26.39.
