Warner named in Australia squad for 1st Pakistan test; hopes for SCG farewell

David Warner has been handed the chance of a hopedfor Sydney Cricket Ground farewell after being named in Australias squad for the first of three home tests against PakistanThe squad named Sunday which includes the 37yearold opener is only for the first test at Perth from Dec 1419 If he holds his place for the second test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground starting on Boxing Day Warner will be in line for his dream farewell on his home ground in Sydney from Jan 3 to 7Also ReadPlaying fewer balls in powerplay doesnt affect Ruturaj GaikwadWarners recent test form has been mixed and he has averaged 28 in test matches since the summer of 2019 when he made a triple century against Pakistan at Adelaide He has made clear his wish to end his Baggy Green career at Sydney while continuing to play for Australia in white ball cricketWarner will start the summer opening the batting with Usman Khawaja while opener candidates Cameron Bancroft Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris will have a chance to stake their claims with the Prime Ministers XI which plays Pakistan at Canberra from Dec 6 to 9Also ReadAshish Nehras take on Rinku Singhs inclusion in Indias T20 World Cup squadFast bowler Lance Morris is closer to a test debut after being recalled to the 14man squad Cameron Green also returns after previously losing his test spot to Mitch Marsh and Alex Carey has been named wicketkeeper after losing that role at the recent oneday World CupSpinner Nathan Lyon is back after recovering from a calf injury which ruled him out of the latter stages of the Ashes series He replaces Todd MurphyChairman of selectors George Bailey said the incumbents had earned the opportunity to play the first test of the summer after an outstanding winter in which Australia won the World Test Championship and retained the AshesThirteen members of the squad were part of the victorious World Test Championship and successful Ashes tours over the winter and Lance Morris has been recalled after recovering from his back injury over the same period Bailey said As ever there will be opportunities in the short to medium term to break into this squad and we look forward to seeing the continued strong performances from players who have been performing domestically many of whom will get a tremendous opportunity in the PMs XI fixture against Pakistan later this weekMorris has taken 11 wickets at 255 in three Sheffield Shield matches for West Australia since returning from the back injury which ruled him out of the AshesWarners decision to publicly announce his hope for a Sydney finish was met with strong criticism from his former Australia teammate fast bowler Mitchell JohnsonIn a column Sunday in the West Australian newspaper Johnson took issue with Warner As we prepare for David Warners farewell series can somebody please tell me why Johnson wrote Why does a struggling test opener get to nominate his own retirement dateAnd why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a heros sendoff Johnson made reference to the Sandpapergate balltampering scandal involving the Australian team in South Africa in 2018 Warner received a 12month ban for his role in the scandalAlthough Warner wasnt alone in Sandpapergate he was at the time a senior member of the team and someone who liked to use his perceived power as a leader Johnson wrote Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our countryAustralia squadPat Cummins captain Scott Boland Alex Carey Cameron Green Josh Hazlewood Travis Head Usman Khawaja Marnus Labuschagne Nathan Lyon Mitch Marsh Lance Morris Steve Smith Mitch Starc David WarnerThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever