Warner: An all-format great who divided opinions all the time

David Warner has made it to Sydney. It has been one of the longer retirement build-ups and with Warner on Monday saying the end could have come at Lord's, there was no guarantee that he was going to reach this point.

It raised a few eyebrows when he laid out his preferred finish so clearly, although it wasn't the ultimatum it was sometimes made out to be. There had been a window for a farewell 12 months ago after he had scored a double-century in his 100th Test against South Africa with the next game at the SCG. However, the lure of tours to India and England (which ultimately included the World Test Championship final) was strong.

India was ended after two Tests due to injury then England, it appears, was a game-by-game scenario for much of the time. Half-centuries at Lord's and The Oval were just enough to keep the wolf from the door. His 164 in Perth a few weeks ago meant his path was secure.

"I know that people have been gunning for him for a period of time but for us internally, we've seen the great value in what he brings to the table, hence why we've kept picking him," coach Andrew McDonald said last week in a clear indication that it has been the potential of what he could still do that swayed things his way.

The uncertainty over who will replace him has been a reminder that, even with the blemishes on his overall record, he has been among the highest calibre of player. An all-format great, without doubt, if probably a notch below in Test cricket alone given his struggles overseas.

"Personally, I think of him when he first came on the scene and really changed Test cricket," Pat Cummins said. "Walking out there and taking the game away from the opposition in the space of an hour or two, and doing it for over a decade. His longevity is something that gets overlooked."

So now the final stage of his Test career will play out against Pakistan. "Warner week", Cummins termed it. It's rare, especially in Australian cricket, for a player to be able to map out their finale although the SCG has seen a few by dint of normally being the final Test of a summer.

In 2007, the ground witnessed a trio do it when Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer bowed out. A few years earlier, Steve Waugh brought down the curtain in 2004 against India having set the ground alight the summer before with his last-ball-of-the-day hundred against England.

"For Davey, his 112th Test match, the impact that he's had on Australia, the way he's gone about the game, has been incredible," McGrath said ahead of the Test that continues to raise millions for the Jane McGrath foundation. "Hopefully he can go out on a high.

"It'd be great to see him get a hundred here in front of his home crowd. It sort of takes me back to my final Test match with Justin Langer and obviously the late great Shane Warne. So many incredible memories there and just the way people came out and supported us during that final Test match, I'm hoping they do the same for Davey."

Warner has divided opinion like few others. You just have to witness the fallout from Mitchell Johnson's column a few weeks ago. But the ovation at the MCG last week sounded genuine, even if a quick glance at social media (not often a wise thing) suggested differences remained. On Monday he offered to have a beer with anyone who had an issue with him. There will still be those who won't be sorry to see him go, but even they will struggle to make a case that he won't be a loss to the spectacle of the game.

What happened in 2018 will always be part of Warner's story and there remains a chance that skeletons will reveal themselves in the future. At his retirement press conference he said he had become "disconnected" with the game beyond the bubble of international cricket.

"Davey has been exemplary over the last four or five years," Cummins said. "I think we've all grown up a lot over the last four or five years. Davey is a leader in our squad and he's led the way along with a lot of other senior guys on how we want to behave on and off the field. He's been outstanding."

Warner's career has tracked a path through the most dramatic evolution the game has seen. He was ahead of the curve when he made his T20I debut before playing any first-class cricket. Whatever else will be said, it has been an extraordinary feat to compile the three-format returns he has managed.

When he plays his next T20I, which could be against New Zealand in March, he will bring up 100 appearances in all formats. There's a handful of others who will likely achieve that (Tim Southee is very close), but given the direction of travel for Test cricket Warner could be among the last of his kind.

In Test cricket, his average has not been below 40 since December 2013. From then on, it peaked at 51.34 in early 2016. There was a period through 2014 and 2015 when few could touch him for a combination of volume and speed of scoring: across 23 Tests he averaged 61.30 with a strike rate of 83.09 including 11 centuries.

"Warner has made the life of his dozen opening partners much easier with his belligerent style," Greg Chappell wrote in a column for Nine newspapers. "With a strike rate of 70, Davey took the opposition on. By doing that, he allowed his partners to go about their business sedately, without having to worry about the scoreboard. Doing the heavy lifting came naturally to him."

The scoops, the flicks, the ramps, Warner's array of strokeplay was often breathtaking. And even amid the leaner times of the last few years he has still had it in him, as he showed in Perth when he scooped Shaheen Shah Afridi over fine leg.

His record at home has been immense - an average of 58.11 going into his final outing - with his numbers abroad more modest. His overseas returns are propped up by his impressive performances in South Africa in 2014, in conditions which closely resembled home, and two handsome Tests in Bangladesh. In England (26.48), India (21.78), Sri Lanka (25.22) and the West Indies (26.90) it was a struggle. But even in some of those contests, he has been part of compelling storylines, not least Stuart Broad's dominance of him in 2019.

The level of fitness he has maintained is also worthy of note. It was his fielding against Sri Lanka in the ODI World Cup that was a catalyst for Australia's resurgence. There have been few quicker between the wickets than him, or a better judge of a run. And he has remained an excellent close catcher.

But amid all the focus that Warner week will bring, this isn't quite the end, although confirmation that he was also closing the chapter on ODI cricket brought it a step closer. There remains the unknown of what he will say when he finally hangs up the bat for good, what he is saving for the book and who should be worried. He will make a swift move into the commentary box. Still, whatever your views on him, he has never been dull. And however the closing stages of his career play out it's unlikely to ever be so.