Ricky Ponting predicts David Warner's Test future; calls him 'stubborn little bugger'

Legendary Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has suggested that David Warner should have finished his Test career during the third Test against South Africa at the Sydney Cricket Ground, earlier this year. Speaking to RSN, Ponting said Warner might play the World Test Championship final for Australia, but might not be in the scheme of things for the Ashes. Warner had horror outings during the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 against India, with the maximum score of 15 runs in three games.

The explosive left-handed batsman was sent home to recover from a fractured elbow. Outside of his 200-run knock against South Africa at the Boxing Day Test in MCG, the veteran has crossed the 50-run mark just twice in his last 20 Test innings. Citing that Warner had a chance to end his career on his own term in his 101st Test in Sydney, Ponting suggested Warner’s career might end in an ugly fashion now.

"The only currency you have as a batsman is runs"

As per a report by Fox Sports, speaking to RSN, Ponting said, “I think I’ve heard him talk before about their cycle. This current cycle will finish after the World Test Championship, which is obviously the week before the first Ashes Test and I would think all going well that they want to get David through until the end of that Test match at least”. The former Aussie captain will coach the 36-year-old Warner at the Delhi Capitals franchise in the IPL.

“It’s up to him though. The only currency you have as a batsman is runs and if you’re not scoring any you leave yourself open. It’s happened to all of us, it happened to me. When you get to a certain age and it looks like your form is dropping off slightly, then the knives are sharpened and it doesn’t take long,” Ponting added.

The 48-year-old Ponting also mentioned that the last thing a player of Warner’s calibre deserves is to get dropped from the team in the middle of an away tour. “The last thing he deserved is to be away on a tour and get in to the middle of a series and get dropped and his career is over. That would be an awful way for him to finish. He’s a driven little man, a pretty stubborn little bugger, so we’ll see how he goes,” he further added. While Warner’s run tally in Test cricket sits at 8158 runs in 187 innings at an average of 45.58, he has scored just 1070 runs in 34 innings since 2020.