Home Tests against an undermanned Pakistan may struggle to excite even the most ardent Australian cricket fan but angst over David Warner’s farewell tour has given the series a much-welcomed boost.<\/p>\n
Since his Test debut against New Zealand in 2011, Warner has been front and centre in Australian cricket, whether as a poster boy for brilliance or a whipping boy for the team’s occasional transgressions.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old is in the spotlight once again as he looks to bow out of Test cricket on his own terms amid considerable doubt over his place in the side.<\/p>\n
Former team mate Mitchell Johnson gave voice to that doubt with a sledgehammer column that highlighted Warner’s waning output in Tests and suggested selectors were too close to the lefthander.<\/p>\n
While Johnson’s takedown drew a scathing response from some media pundits, many in the Australian cricketing community feel a lingering discomfort more than five years on from the Newlands ball-tampering scandal.<\/p>\n
‘Sandpaper-gate’ was arguably the nadir of Australian cricket in the modern era, with Warner adjudged villain-in-chief after a Cricket Australia integrity probe.<\/p>\n
Opening partner Usman Khawaja spoke for many when he said Warner, along with fellow ball-tampering conspirators Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft, had “paid his dues” by serving a 12-month suspension.<\/p>\n
Yet plenty of fans would agree with Johnson that indulging Warner with a “hero’s send-off” in the third Test at his home Sydney Cricket Ground would be hard to swallow.<\/p>\n
Warner remains saddled with a lifelong leadership ban following Newlands, despite his campaign last year to have it rescinded.<\/p>\n
That came to nothing when he angrily pulled out of the process, accusing a Cricket Australia-appointed panel of seeking to dredge up unsavoury details about ‘Sandpaper-gate’.<\/p>\n
He has kept his counsel amid the recent furore, declining interviews while allowing his long-serving manager James Erskine to defend his character and return fire at Johnson.<\/p>\n
Warner may hope his bat will do the talking, much as it did during the recent World Cup in India when his mountain of runs helped Australia to a record sixth title.<\/p>\n
Test runs have been much harder to come by in recent years, barring a brilliant double-century in his 100th test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground against South Africa nearly a year ago.<\/p>\n
Former captain Ricky Ponting later said that would have been Warner’s ideal swansong – but he battled on through an injury-blighted series in India and a middling Ashes in England.<\/p>\n
Runs rather than reputation may ultimately decide whether Warner gets the Sydney send-off he has long hoped for.<\/p>\n
Former Australia wicketkeeper Ian Healy was famously denied a farewell 100th Test in Brisbane by selectors who opted for the emerging Adam Gilchrist instead.<\/p>\n
However, as has long been in Warner’s favour, replacements remain thin on ground, with none of the usual names producing compelling cases to dislodge one of the nation’s all-time best openers.<\/p>\n