Warner bows out with a fifty as Aussies complete 3-0 sweep of Pakistan

David Warner walks out to bat for the final time in Test cricket (Photo: Getty Images)

‘He’s going to be hard to replace’

Warner ends his career as Australia’s most prolific opener, and the fourth-most successful opener of all-time in terms of runs scored, behind England’s Sir Alastair Cook, India’s Sunil Gavaskar and South Africa’s Graeme Smith.

Warner played 161 one-day internationals and also announced his retirement from that format during this series, but will continue to play T20s.

But his successful career has also been intertwined with controversy.

In 2018, he was Australia’s vice-captain and was banned from playing all forms of international cricket for a year over his involvement in the ‘sandpaper-gate’ ball-tampering scandal.

He was also permanently banned from holding a leadership position in Australian cricket teams.

Warner returned from his ban in 2019 and re-established himself as one of the world’s best openers, which leaves Australia with the difficult task of finding his replacement.

“It’s going to be hard to replace him,” said Cummins. “He’s basically played every game for the last dozen years.

“He’s a huge personality, he really sets the game up with the way he plays every time he walks out.

“He’s going to be huge to replace. We’ll enjoy him for the next day or so while we’ve still got him around.” (BBC Sport)