Warner set for Sydney farewell as Australia names unchanged squad

SYDNEY (Agencies): David Warner has been given the hometown farewell from test cricket he craved after the opening batsman was named in an unchanged Australia line-up for the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sydney next week. Warner said in June he wanted to call time on his 12-year test career at the Sydney Cricket Ground and, with the Australians holding an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, the 37-year-old has been granted his wish. “The National Selection Panel have retained the same squad from Melbourne to Sydney as we look to clean sweep the test series,” chief selector George Bailey said. “We look forward to celebrating David Warner’s final test match and his incredible career at his home ground.” Sydneysider Warner went into the current series with question marks over his form due to a lack of Test runs, but a rapidfire 164 in the first innings of the opening test in Perth erased any doubts over his position in the team. Australia won that Test by 360 runs before Pat Cummins put on a man-of-the-match performance to seal the second test in Melbourne last week, the captain taking 10 wickets as Pakistan lost by 79 runs in four days. The series win was the fourth in a row at home for the Australians, who have won 10 tests out of 12 since Cummins took over as captain ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes series. Pakistan will go into the meeting at the Sydney Cricket Ground looking for their first Test win in Australia for nearly three decades.

Australia squad:

Pat Cummins (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner.