Mitchell Johnson was quite scathing in his recent column in which he questioned the logic behind David Warner getting a hero’s send-off from Test cricket despite his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal of 2018 and below-par form.
Warner had earlier said he would like to retire from Test cricket after the Sydney Test in January next year and his selection for the upcoming Pakistan series seems to suggest Australia are willing to fulfil his wish.
Johnson has opened up on what led to the severe criticism of his former teammate.
During his podcast The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show, the former fast bowler claimed he received a ‘pretty bad’ and ‘disappointing’ text message from Warner earlier this year which was in response to his column questioning the public defense of the batting superstar’s place in Test squad from his wife Candice Warner.
“I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal,” Johnson said. “I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it, which I’ve always been open to. I know I’ve been open to the guys when I finished playing. I said if I’m in the media and writing things or saying things that you don’t like, just come and speak to me.
“It was never a personal thing then until this point. This is probably what drove me to write the article as well, part of it. It was definitely a factor. Some of the stuff that was said in that, I won’t say it. I think that’s up to Dave to say it if he wants to talk about it. There was some stuff in there that was extremely disappointing, what he said, and pretty bad to be honest,” he added.
In his column for the West Australian, Johnson had claimed Warner has not yet owned the ball-tampering scandal and his Test form doesn’t warrant him a hero’s send-off.
“It’s been five years and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal,” Johnson wrote. “Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country.
“As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why? Why a struggling Test opener gets to nominate his own retirement date. And why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero’s send-off?” he added.
Johnson took full responsibility of the column which was written with the help of a ghostwriter but he says the bit about ball-tampering is something he could have avoided.
Responding to what the fans could bring along during Warner’s final Test, the 42-year-old Johnson wrote, “Bunnings would sell out of sandpaper”
“It was probably distasteful and something that I think didn’t need to be said,” . “Apart from that, it’s all proof read and I sign off on it. I did come up with this myself. This was something that popped into my head early in the week that I wanted to speak about. And I actually gave myself a few days to go through it,” he said.
“I’m not looking for attention. It’s just my opinion and how I see it.”
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