'Don't Think Anyone Has the Right...': Former Australia Cricketer Against David Warner Getting to Choose Farewell Test

David Warner is expected to call time on his Test career following the home series against Pakistan that starts next month.

Warner, who had a forgettable Ashes series in England earlier this year, has indicated his desire to retire at his home ground in Sydney which will play host to the third Test between Australia and Pakistan from January 3.

However, former Australia cricketer Simon O’Donnell reckons that players should not have the freedom to decide when they play their final match for Australia which he terms is an ‘honour’.

“I don’t like farewell tours. I didn’t like it back in Steve Waugh’s Day or Mark Taylor’s Day. I think you’re invited to play for Australia and it’s an honour to do that,” O’Donnell said on Sen Radio on Friday.

“I don’t think anyone has the right to say, ‘I’ll finish, on the 30th of June this year’,” he added.

Warner is fresh off from a memorable ODI World Cup campaign that culminated in Australia winning a record-extending sixth title with the opener finishing as their leading run-getter of the competition.

O’Donnell feels that it’s time for Warner to quit Test cricket but feels the 37-year-old should continue his white-ball career though.

“I do in the white ball (format), no problem at all. But with the red ball, I think it’s time. But we’re in this corner, we’re just coming off a World Cup, and that’s going to muddy the waters. Everyone will say, ‘Oh yeah, what about his World Cup?’ So that buys some more time (for Warner), I think,” he said.

O’Donnell thinks that Cameron Bancroft deserves a place in Australia Test squad citing his form in domestic cricket.

“There would be genuine debate about that. Like Cameron Bancroft, I’m not sure how much more he needs to do. He just keeps peeling off hundreds and if it’s not 100 it’s a 60. If he has one bad innings, he then makes another 100 you know, he’s just been in brilliant form the last 18 months,” O’Donnell said.

Bancroft’s Australia Test career suffered a major dent when he was banned for nine months for his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal of 2018.

“Do you make him (Bancroft) wait another summer? Because that’s what he’s going to have to do if that plan (to play Warner) goes ahead,” O’Donnell said.

“I think the game is always bigger than the individual. There’s a lot to take in. But the first thing Australia’s got to do is win their Test match. If David Warner is the best at number one at the top of the order, so be it,” he added.