David Warner: An entertainer until the very end
A half-centurion in his final Test and an entertainer right until curtain call, David Warner has hung up his baggy green.
With Australia only 11 runs short of victory and a 3-0 series whitewash against Pakistan, Warner (57) was dismissed lbw on review after lunch on day four, the victim of a turning Sajid Khan delivery.
The 37-year-old walked graciously from the pitch after his dismissal, removing his helmet and raising his bat to the SCG crowd who were giving him a standing ovation.
Warner hugged long-time teammate Steve Smith by the boundary rope before racing up the stairs and disappearing into the dressing room.
Marnus Labuschagne (62no) hit the winning runs only minutes later to give Australia an eight-wicket win and Warner a fairytale send-off.
By turns a loveable larrikin, pantomime villain and entertainment machine, Warner's career was only ever going to end with a rollercoaster of a week.
It started with a press conference during which Warner bared his soul, reflecting on a career spent in the limelight and as a man who only ever intended to do things his own way.
For good measure he threw in a sudden ODI retirement, and an open offer to meet up for beers with any of his haters.
But just as the sporting public had begun to digest the words of wisdom, the David Warner Show took another dramatic turn. The 37-year-old father-of-three had misplaced his baggy greens.
Warner's Instagram video appealing for the caps' safe return sparked a nationwide search spurred on by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself.
Even amid a full day when he was not at the crease, the safe return of the baggy greens early on day three meant Warner was still centre-stage.
It was fitting for a man who made a Test career of withstanding pressure and routinely bouncing back from its pitfalls.
But Warner saved his best trick for last, playing the kind of innings that has made him a bonafide international star.
There was dogged running between wickets, a bold - though admittedly failed - attempt at a reverse scoop and a beauty of a reverse sweep shot that was among his seven fours.
After the first day of play, long-term teammate Mitch Marsh chuckled and said something like losing a lost baggy green "could probably only happen to Davey".
A Test career that began without first-class experience and doubters aplenty, and ended in the history books, may also always be unique to a knockabout boy from Sydney's inner-east.
DAVID WARNER'S TEST CAREER BY THE NUMBERS:
Tests: 112
Debut: Australia vs New Zealand, The Gabba, December 1-4, 2011
Final Test: Australia vs Pakistan, SCG, January 3-6, 2023
Average: 44.89
Highest Score: 335* vs Pakistan, Adelaide Oval, November 29-December 2, 2019
Centuries: 26
Half-centuries: 36
Runs: 8786
Wickets: 4
