Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson recently launched a scathing attack on David Warner while reacting to talks of the veteran opener getting a hero’s send-off in what is expected to be his last Test match against Pakistan in January 2024.
Johnson accused Warner of not owning up to his role in the ball-tampering scandal and also took a dig at his fading numbers in Test cricket, asking why the selectors would allow such a batter to decide his exit date.
"As we prepare for David Warner's farewell series, can somebody please tell me why? Why does a struggling Test opener get to nominate his own retirement date? And why does a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrant a hero's send-off?" Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.
While Warner is yet to break his silence on Johnson’s comment, his manager James Erskine has hit back at the former fast bowler by saying that the left-hander’s selection in the Test side is logical.
"Let me tell you, anyone can get a headline. The fact is [Warner's selection] is just logical. The three [replacement] candidates will be [Matthew] Renshaw, [Cameron] Bancroft - who has played pretty well in the Sheffield Shield - and [Marcus] Harris. Now they've all had spells opening the batting for Australia," Erskine said, as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Erskine also mentioned that the trio of Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Matthew Renshaw had managed to score just one century between them in 38 Test outings and their collective average was somewhere in the mid-20s.
Erskine further pointed out that Warner scored a half-century during his last Test innings in the Ashes and was the leading run-scorer for the Baggy Greens in the recently held Cricket World Cup.
"David is in good form. Thank God Mitchell Johnson isn't a Test selector," Erskine said.
Australia's squad for first Test against Pakistan: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, and David Warner.
