Warner hopes to helicopter in for Thunder's BBL clash against Sixers

David Warner is hopeful that he will able to helicopter in for Sydney Thunder's BBL derby against Sydney Sixers on Friday so that he can play after attending his brother's wedding.

Exact plans are still being worked through, but flying to the SCG will be Warner's only option if he is to make the game with the wedding taking place in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney.

"I've got a couple of aircrafts booked, pending weather," Warner said after his final Test in Sydney. "It's a fine line. I might be tight but I'm trying my best to make it work for that day."

Thunder are hopeful that Warner will be available for their final three regular-season matches, with games against Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades to follow the Sydney Smash.

Warner's current two-year deal with Thunder concludes this season, but prior to his final Test he said he was keen to continue in the tournament next season if it can fit around his new commentary role.

"I definitely am keen to pursue playing Big Bash next year," he said. "There's going to be conversations behind the scenes to allow me to do that. Obviously, I've joined the Fox commentary team next year during the Test series against India, which I'm looking forward to.

"There's a BBL window that we're able to play…so I would like to play that in and around the commentary stuff. I've just got to make sure that I'm, one, playing to the best of my ability and, two, not hindering the team's performances or upsetting the balance of the team."

Thunder are currently seventh in the table with a solitary win in six games and unlikely to make this season's finals, although Warner would probably have been unavailable for them as he is expected to be granted a No Objection Certificate [NOC] to play in the ILT20 for Dubai Capitals.

That tournament will mean Warner will also miss the T20I series against West Indies early next month, but the current expectation is that he will be available for the three-match series in New Zealand.

Warner added that the T20 World Cup in June would "definitely" mark the end of his international career, although when announcing his ODI retirement last week he kept the door ajar for a comeback at the 2025 Champions Trophy if Australia needed him.

"That [the T20 World Cup] was my finishing goal if I wasn't getting to here [to Sydney]," he said. "That was my last hurrah, the Twenty20s. I started my career in Twenty20 cricket and will finish my career in Twenty20 cricket. Think it's fitting. I really enjoy the game but most importantly I want to win another World Cup for Australia."