F.P. Report
SYDNEY: David Warner is expected to miss the white-ball portion of West Indies’ tour of Australia in February as he looks to start maximising his T20 league availability following Test retirement in Sydney next week.
Warner has a deal with Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 with that tournament running from January 20 through to the final on February 18. Australia played West Indies in three ODIs and three T20Is between February 2 and 13. ‘Nothing that I could’ve ever imagined’ – Starc reacts to becoming the costliest IPL auction buy.
Warner is set to play BBL for Sydney Thunder after his last Test against Pakistan although there remains some doubt as to whether he would be available for finals should Thunder qualify. The chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association indicated on Thursday that he expected Warner to apply for an No Objection Certificate to play in the ILT20. “I think the short answer to that is probably yes,” Greenberg told SEN when asked if Warner would likely miss some home cricket. “I know he’s pretty committed to the BBL. “There’s no doubt in the next phase of Dave’s life he’s going to be looking to ply his trade where he gets the best return on his investment. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, in fact I’m encouraging him to do that.
“There will be times where he’ll be looking to miss certain games and tours. That’s the sort of flexibility we’ve got to get our heads around. Some people won’t like that, but that’s the modern world of which we’re living in and we have to embrace it.” Warner being unavailable for international duty in favour of a domestic T20 deal would be the most significant occurrence of its type in Australian cricket.
However, understands the selectors had long-planned that Warner and other senior players might not play the series against West Indies. But the plan is that they will select a full-strength side for T20Is in New Zealand in preparation for June’s World Cup in the Caribbean and USA with Warner expected to be part of that.
The first match of that series is on February 21 in Wellington. The management and selectors also see the IPL as a valuable part of the T20 World Cup preparation for those who have earned deals, which now includes Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.
The ODIs against West Indies mark the start of a new four-year cycle towards the 2027 World Cup which would seem a long shot for Warner although he did float the notion of playing on to that event after Australia’s victory in India last month. During the recent World Cup, Warner said he would not be taking a Cricket Australia central contract next year to give himself more freedom.
