But wait, Australia need a Test opener to face India. "I'm always available, just got to pick up the phone," Warner told the Daily Telegraph. "Honestly, if they really needed myself for this series, I'm more than happy to play the next Shield game and go out there and play."
It almost goes without saying that it won't be happening. "You retired," was the coach Andrew McDonald's reported response from a text exchange. But apart from Warner making himself the headline again, it does reinforce that Australia are trying to fill a major hole ahead of the India series.
There just isn't a ready-made replacement - it's a tough ask to replace someone who was a generational player. Even Warner finished his career with
his Test powers somewhat waned (albeit
averaging 49.8 in his final series).
And while you can be confident the debates between selectors George Bailey, Tony Dodemaide and McDonald will be calmer than some of the discussions going on in public,
it hasn't been a great week
for the auditions.
That we are back here, 12 months on from the lead-in to Warner's final series, highlights the void that has been left. The
four-Test experiment with
Steven Smith - which did allow Cameron Green back into the side - has been quickly aborted, yet there remains a chance it will again not be a specialist opener who is selected. When not making things about himself, Warner raised that point. It's been a long time since one position has caused such angst for Australia.
It was interesting to note Smith pushing his New South Wales team-mate
Nic Maddinson as
an option. Maddinson, who played three Tests in 2016, had a sparkling finish to last season with Victoria, when he made three centuries in successive matches. As with a few others, though, it's been a lean start to the Sheffield Shield for him, with
scores of 12, 8, 19 and 15. He was worked over by Scott Boland
at the MCG; not the first, or last, to suffer that fate.
But the interesting angle was as much about volume of runs as tempo. "If you're looking for someone similar to a Davey replacement, he gets after the ball and can score really quickly," Smith said. "The game's kind of changed that way a little bit, you see a lot of the openers around the world these days getting after the ball and trying to put the pressure on early against that new ball."
In that regard, Warner was a game-changer. He won't be back. They are huge shoes to fill. And whoever does it, Warner will be commentating on them. Prepare for a few more headlines yet.