Calling David Warner a great ambassador of the cricket world, Pakistan captain Shan Masood paid tribute to the veteran Australian opener ahead of his farewell Test series.
Warner was named in Australia’s 14-man squad for the first Test against Pakistan, scheduled in Perth from December 14-18, after he expressed a wish to end his Test career on his home ground of Sydney in the series’ third and final match on January 3-7. There was some doubt about whether David Warner would be selected for the first Test against Pakistan, but the Australian selection committee seemed to be backing the veteran opener, particularly following his heroics in the ODI World Cup in India.
Masood also acknowledged the emotional significance of the three-match Test series for the Australian opener while revealing plans to present different challenges to Warner in his final phase. Pakistan are currently in Canberra to play a 4-day game against the Australian PM XI ahead of the series, which will be played on December 9. After this game, Pakistan will face Australia in the first Test on December 14 in Perth.
Warner may be hoping that his bat will do the talking, as it did during Australia’s record-breaking sixth World Cup victory in India. Except for a stunning double-century against South Africa in his 100th Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground about a year ago, runs in red-ball cricket have been much harder to come by in recent years.
Australia squad for first Test against Pakistan: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Lance Morris
