A strong domestic season in 1908–09 – 748 runs from 9 innings at an average of 83.11 – led to Bardsley's inclusion in the 1909 Australian squad to tour England for
the Ashes. After making his debut at
Edgbaston, in the city of
Birmingham, Bardsley struggled for runs in the Test arena, returning scores of 2, 6, 46, 0, 30, 2, 9 and 35 in his first eight innings. In the Fifth Test, at
The Oval, London, however, Bardsley became the first Test cricketer to score a century – 100 runs or more – in both innings of a single Test match. The 1910–11 series against
South Africa in Australia was Bardsley's strongest Test series – 573 runs at 63.67 in nine innings. The following year, against
England, he struggled somewhat and was replaced by the aging
Syd Gregory for the Fifth Test. Bardsley returned to Test form in the inaugural
Triangular Test series (featuring England, Australia and South Africa in England) ending the series as the leading run-scorer (392 runs at 65.33 from 6 innings).
World War I robbed Bardsley of five years of his playing career. By the time Test cricket resumed in 1920, Bardsley was aged in his late-thirties. His form was not the same; in the 21 Tests Bardsley played from 1920 to 1926, he managed only one century. Maintaining his position in the Australian Test squad proved to be difficult, especially considering the fine form of younger opening batsmen
Bill Ponsford,
Bill Woodfull and
Herbie Collins. Despite his Test woes, domestically Bardsley continued to average in the high-30s – low-40s for New South Wales throughout much of the early-1920s. Warren Bardsley was 43 years old when he made his last Test tour of England, in 1926. After captain Herbie Collins was felled by illness after the Second Test, the captaincy duties fell on Bardsley, despite his inexperience in that field. Both matches under Bardsley's tenure ended in a draw. He was also the oldest captain to make captaincy debut at the age of 43 years and 216 days. Bardsley played all five Tests in the 1926 series; his undefeated innings of 193 at
Lord's in the Second Test would be his highest Test score, and made him the oldest player to score a Test century for Australia. It also created a record for the highest individual score in a Test Match at Lord's (beaten in 1930 by
Bradman's 254). ==Personal life==