Australia opener David Warner played down suggestions voiced by former England captain Michael Vaughan that he and team-mate Steve Smith are set to retire; watch the fifth and final Test of the men's Ashes series live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Thursday
Wednesday 26 July 2023 18:21, UK
David Warner played down suggestions he is on the verge of retirement as Australia aim to win an Ashes series in England for the first time in over two decades.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said he has heard murmurings that Warner and fellow Australia batter Steve Smith could bow out from Test cricket after this week's game at The Kia Oval, which is live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday.
Australia have retained the Ashes after last week's rain-ruined fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford left them 2-1 up with one to play but are now intent on becoming the first side from their country to win a Test series in the UK since 2001 with defeats in 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2015 followed by a draw in 2019.
Warner, 36, said of reports his Test career would soon be over: "Smithy [is retiring] too apparently. So, obviously it's a joke I won't take that too seriously... I don't have an announcement."
Warner, who has averaged 25.12 in this series with a best of 66, added: "I've probably left a few out there but in saying that, I've played a lot better than what I did last time [averaging below 10 in the 2019 Ashes]. I feel like I'm in a good space, contributed well.
"I've had a couple of unlucky dismissals and then been dismissed where I've tried to negate the swing or the seam and it's caught the outside edge of the bat."
Back in June, Warner spoke publicly about his intention to retire from Test cricket following Australia's match against Pakistan in Sydney next January, with the T20 World Cup in the summer of 2024 seen as a natural end-point to his career.
Australia captain Pat Cummins knows there are players like the opener who will likely not be part of the squad when they return to England for the next Ashes tour in four years' time, but does not want to see anyone rush off into retirement.
"I certainly don't want to rush anyone out the door," Cummins said. "I think this is about the fourth Ashes series where Jimmy Anderson has said it's going to be his last one, so you never quite know.
"Some of these guys might be around in four years and still at the top level. In cricket, we're lucky where you've got white-ball cricket where you can have a soft entry to international cricket for a lot of guys, but it's something the international selectors talk about."
Australia began their tour of England by beating India to win the World Test Championship at The Kia Oval and now return to that venue looking for the perfect finish by clinching a first Ashes series win on these shores since 2001.
Last week's rain-affected draw at Old Trafford ensured the Australians retained the urn, while Cummins has plenty of personal takeaway from both the match against India and the series against their oldest rivals.
The skipper believes his captaincy at The Oval can be better, after feeling he could have done things differently to counter England scoring quickly when batting in Manchester, but hopes he has improved in the role over the five Tests so far this summer after experiencing previously-unseen passages of play.
"I've certainly been exposed to more," Cummins, who was appointed Australia captain in November 2021, said. "I think both teams have seen passages of play I haven't seen before, so hopefully we can adapt a bit more and a bit quicker for this week.
"Hopefully I'm a bit better and I don't think I was at my best last week, but better this week.
"I'm always one for focusing on what we do really well, so I think maybe at times it's just bringing that focus back to us.
"I think this series has had pretty much everything. We've seen really slow passages of play, like at Lord's where both teams really dried up the run-rate, and other times where it has accelerated and you've seen both teams have batters batting at the tail with nine fielders out on the fence, which I've never seen before in Test cricket. "
The most significant change being pondered by Australia as they aim to wrap up a 3-1 series win is whether or not Todd Murphy comes back into the fold.
The off-break bowler replaced the injured Nathan Lyon in the third-Test defeat at Headingley, but was omitted for Old Trafford. However, Cummins admits they are pondering bringing Murphy back for The Oval to offer a specialist spin option.
"Probably the biggest difference from last week is the spinner and whether that comes into the equation," Cummins said. "We're waiting for a couple of boys to see how they're going to pull up, but everyone looks like they're going to be fit.
"A spinner might have made a difference [when England were scoring quickly at Old Trafford], you never quite know. In those moments maybe a change of pace is useful.
Watch the fifth and final Ashes Test, from The Kia Oval, live on Sky Sports Cricket from Thursday. Coverage starts at 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am. You can also follow over-by-over commentary and video clips via our blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports App.
