Australia star opener David Warner bid adieu to Test cricket as he played his last match in the longest format on Saturday against Pakistan. Warner scored 57 off 75 balls and helped Australia clinch an eight-wicket win and claim the three-match series 3-0. Making his Test debut back in 2011, Warner played 112 matches and scored a whopping total of 8786 runs. Apart from his heroic knocks, Warner also formed a great opening pair with his fellow teammate Usman Khawaja. The duo provided a strong base to Australia’s batting line-up for several years.
As Warner played his last Test innings and received a warm farewell from the crowd, he was also seen giving a hug to Khawaja’s mother.
After the match, an emotional Khawaja recalled this lovely moment and revealed that Warner shares a great bond with his mother, who has given him a nickname.
“There he is hugging my mum. He has known my mum as long as he has known me. And my mum loves him. She calls him Shaitan, Devil, Satan (laughs). My mum loved the fact that he was the devil and it wasn’t her son that she could just push it back to Lorraine and Howard (Warner’s parents),” Khawaja told Fox Cricket while reflecting on the moment.
“Honestly, I just enjoyed batting with him, he attacked the ball, let me play my game. When I finish (my career), we can enjoy playing a round of golf together. Be yourself, you can’t try to be someone else, you just can’t go out and strike in the 70s (when asked if Warner can be replaced seamlessly),” he added.
Warner departed the red-ball game after plundering 8,786 runs at an average of 44.60, with a strike rate of 70.20, blasting 26 centuries and 37 half-centuries.
A larger-than-life character, Warner also collected 91 catches as one of the most consistent slip fielders in cricket.
(With AFP Inputs)
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