On Friday, when David Warner arrives by helicopter from his brother’s wedding to play for the Sydney Thunder against the Sydney Sixers, he will now touch down at the SCG.
The utilization of Allianz Stadium, which is adjacent to the cricket site, was initially considered but ultimately abandoned. During his farewell test, he is now anticipated to make contact with the area on the outfield where the “Thanks Dave” logo was emblazoned.
Depending on the weather, he is projected to arrive at approximately 5:00 pm for a potentially sold-out performance, following his attendance at a wedding in the Hunter Valley and a subsequent departure to Cessnock airport.
“He’s going to a lot of effort to come and play for us,” Thunder quick Gurinder Sandhu said. “We love having him here. Last year he was awesome for us, maybe didn’t score as many runs as he would have liked but around the group and passing on knowledge was awesome to have him around. He’s one of the better team men. All the fans get to enjoy him playing cricket.”
“He is a bit Hollywood, isn’t he, that’s very Davey,” Sean Abbott of Sydney Sixers joked. “I got the Lime bike in today and I’ll be doing the same tomorrow night and riding out the gate as Davey lands.
“I’m glad they are making it happen because think everyone in the country who is a fan of cricket wants to see David Warner in the BBL and I’m really looking forward to coming up against him. One of the best players in the world and has been for a long time.”
Warner inked a lucrative two-year contract with Thunder prior to the previous season, as Cricket Australia made a tremendous effort to reintroduce international talents to the competition. He has expressed interest in returning for the following season, but will schedule appearances around his India Test series commentary duties.
Steven Smith will be available for the Sixers, who are vying for a position in the championships, while several Australian Test players squeeze in BBL appearances during the interim period between the Pakistan and West Indies series.
Warner is scheduled to make one of three appearances for the Thunder this season subsequent to his retirement from Test play against the Sixers. The club has an extremely remote possibility of advancing to the elimination stages; however, Warner’s absence would have been a factor in that he is attending the ILT20 in the UAE.
However, it is now anticipated that he will return from that tournament in order to participate in the Twenty20 International series against the West Indies, as he remained available in that format prior to his ultimate retirement from international cricket in June, following the T20 World Cup.
