Ricky Ponting says ideal time for David Warner to retire after 2022 MCG double hundred

Ricky Ponting believes David Warner missed the ideal time to retire from Test cricket after his double century against South Africa at the MCG and suggested the World Test Championship final could be a one-off opportunity for him to prove he should play the Ashes.
His double hundred in his 100th test at the MCG came amid ongoing talks about his form and Ponting believes the next game that was at the SCG would have been the time to go out on a high.

“Look, I was on the radio a few days ago, here in Australia, and I thought the absolute best time for Davey to retire, if he thought about it, was after the Sydney Test match here in Australia Ponting told the ICC review podcast.

“He had just played his 100th Test in Melbourne and clearly had 200 there in the first innings. And bowing to his home crowd is of course the way any player would like to end his career.

“Who knows, maybe that chance won’t come for Davey now, you know. That’s almost 12 months away.”

Ponting expects Warner to appear in the WTC final at The Oval in June, which will be against India or Sri Lanka, but sees it as a crucial performance in determining his appearance in the Ashes. Warner has a disappointing record in England with an average of 26.04 from 13 tests.
“I think they definitely want to play him in the World Test Championship match,” he said. “They have some really big decisions to make, which also lead to the Ashes. Kind of like some of the selection issues they had when they came to India.

“They’ll probably have similar things to think about when they get to the UK because David’s track record in the UK isn’t as strong as some other places in the world.”

However, Ponting added that Warner deserved to finish his testing career on his terms.

“I think his career deserves to end the way he wants it to,” he said. “Sort of not dropping or tapping the shoulder on an overseas tour and letting his career end that way. So I hope he can find it within himself to score a lot of points between now and next summer. . “

Travis Head was promoted to open in place of Warner for the second innings at Delhi and successfully continued the role in Indore. However, he is not seen as a permanent successor given his influence in the middle order, although he may reprise the role in the subcontinent.

“We’ll see where that goes in the future, but I see him [Head] also as an incredible mid-range player,” said coach Andrew McDonald. “He can move the game’s momentum into the mid-range and I don’t think we want to take that away from this team. I think he can get to the top of the order under different circumstances behind the work of others.”

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