- Australia faces tough five-Test series this summer
- Opening position is wide open following Warner’s retirement
- Cummins has delivered an emphatic response to a Warner backflip
Australian Test skipper Pat Cummins has slammed the door shut on any potential retirement backflip from former opener David Warner in hilarious fashion.
The Aussies face a crucial five-Test series against India on home soil this summer which will go a long way toward deciding who finishes at the top of the Test Championship standings.
India has won the past two series in Australia, leaving Pat Cummins and his men on high alert.
There are also places in the XI to be finalised, with the position of opening the batting alongside Usman Khawaja the most contentious.
Warner retired from all forms of international cricket earlier this year and Steven Smith has ruled out continuing at the top of the order for the Australians.
Which led Warner to make the stunning statement this week that he would return if the Aussies wanted him to.
‘I’m always available, just got to pick up the phone,’ the 37-year-old told Code Sports.
‘I’m always dead serious. Let’s be honest, the guys have played one red-ball game since their last Test matches in February, so I’ve almost had the same preparation.
‘Honestly, if they really needed myself for this series, I’m more than happy to play the next Shield game and go out there and play.’
The offer was swiftly knocked on the head by chairman of selectors George Bailey and now Cummins has had his say as well.
Speaking on The Grade Cricketer podcast, Cummins could barely stifle his laughter as he sarcastically said they were ‘very’ interested in having Warner back in the fold.
‘Dave, we’re very interested. We’re taking it very seriously and we’ll be in touch, mate,’ he smirked.
‘I did speak to Dave a couple of days ago. I can’t remember if he reached out or I did… he’s like, ‘What do you think?’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, good luck with [Sydney] Thunder and I look forward to your comments on Fox’.
It remains uncertain whether Warner’s offer was genuine or a stich up.
‘I think the truth’s somewhere in the middle,’ Cummins said.
‘I reckon it is a bit of a wind-up but I reckon he doesn’t mind seeing himself in the back page.
‘We love Davey but he is retired.’
While Cummins saw the humourous side of Warner’s offer, former Test star Greg Blewett has blasted the retired star with both barrels.
‘I’ve never heard so much garbage in my life. It’s self-absorbed,’ Blewett said on Triple M.
‘His last 23 Test matches for Australia he was just average. It’s not like he was making run after run after run. He was playing some bloody average cricket and that’s why he was retired.’
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey has also poured cold water on the prospect of Warner returning to do battle with India.
‘To see those comments, I got a bit of a chuckle out of it … Look he’d probably still do a great job, but I don’t think it’s a realist opportunity,’ he told Channel 7.
Instead, Carey backed South Australian teammate Nathan McSweeney to step into the breach.
The 25-year-old is currently captaining South Australia in the Sheffield Shield and showed extreme poise recently with a match-winning ton against a Queensland side led by Australian star Marnus Labuschagne.
‘If that opportunity comes his way, he would certainly grab it with both hands,’ Carey said of McSweeney.
‘He works pretty hard on his game and is pretty close with Marnus and they are not too dissimilar with the way they go about it.
‘Australia A is coming up and he’ll get another opportunity there to press his case forward.’
