He deserves to finish the way he wants to: Ricky Ponting on David Warner

Legendary Australian batter Ricky Ponting said on Saturday that veteran opener David Warner deserves a chance to finish his Test career the way he wants to and hopes that the batter would come good in near futureWarnerrsquos woeful run in Test cricket continued as he was dismissed for a golden duck by South African pacer Kagiso Rabada in the first Test at The Gabba while attempting to fend a short delivery and was caught brilliantly by Khaya ZondoThis year has not been good for Warner as he has scored only 368 runs across 18 innings in 10 matches at an average of 2164 with best score of 68 and two halfcenturies In past two years he is averaging only 27 without a century in the longer format His Test average this year has been his lowest in a calendar yearAustraliarsquos next two tours are to India and England where he has had an underwhelming record In India he has 388 runs across 16 innings in eight Tests with three fifties at an average of 2425 In England he has 651 runs in 13 matches across 25 innings with seven fifties at an average of 2604Ponting who himself ended his Test career amid waning powers against South Africa in 2012 has come to back the veteran opener The final Test is in Warnerrsquos home ground Sydney Cricket GroundAlso readDavid Warner withdraws bid to overturn captaincy banldquoI think what he should be doing is being as realistic and looking to the future as he canrdquo Ponting said on Channel 7 as quoted by ESPNCricinfoldquoLike I said before he deserves the chance to finish the way he wants to finish I would hate to see him get to an Indian tour or at the start of the Ashes tour and then get the tap on the shoulder That would be a disappointing way for his career to endhellipit might be after the Sydney Test Let us wait and see Also I hope that he gets some runs between now and thenrdquo he addedDuring the series against West Indies he did get some solid starts but failed to convert them into big scores and ended with total of 92 runs in four innings The Adelaide Test was dominated by fallout to him angrily withdrawing his bid to have his lifetime leadership ban overturnedIn these tough times Warnerrsquos teammate and spinner Nathan Lyon has come to his defence saying that the batter has 100 per cent support of changing roomldquoHe has got 100 per cent support of the changing room and that should be the whole Australian public to be honest with you Yes he got a good steep bouncer today but that was a hell of a catch to hang onto I am expecting David to come out and do amazing thingsrdquo said LyonAhead of series against South Africa head coach Andrew McDonald said that Warner remains in teamrsquos plans for series against IndialdquoHe is eager to continue on at this stage He has not hinted at anything else His appetite for the work ndash in and around training ndash is still there He is busy at the crease and you have seen signs that he is going well He has just found different ways to get out and sometimes that can happenrdquo said the coachIt was ideal for South Africa to get Warner out on the first ball of the innings after they were bundled out for 152 in the first innings They reduced Aussies to 27 for 3 but could not sustain the pressure as Steve Smith and Travis Head had a 117run partnershipldquoWhen we got bowled out for 150odd as much as you want to try and get the energy up it can be quite difficultrdquo Kyle Verreynne said ldquoSo to get the wicket the first ball of the innings and when it is a big player like David Warner that just lifts everyone up and for the next 10 overs we carried that energy and adrenalin from that ball Unfortunately we fell away a bit but it was definitely a massive momentrdquo she addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever