Former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson recently launched a scathing attack on David Warner and chief selector George Bailey, asking why the veteran opener was given the luxury of a farewell Test despite his struggles in red-ball cricket lately.

Earlier this year, Warner expressed his intentions to retire from the Test format at his home ground – the Sydney Cricket Ground – against Pakistan in January 2024.

In his column for the West Australian, Johnson slammed Warner for never owning up to his role in the ball-tampering scandal. He also accused Bailey of being 'too close' to some of the players.

While Warner is yet to break his silence, his manager James Erskine and a host of former Australian players have had their say on Johnson’s comments.

Amid the furore, Johnson on Tuesday (December 5) said that the foundation of his attack on Warner had come from a text message he had received in April.

Apparently, the text was sent following an article Johnson wrote where he had questioned both Warner's form and Candice Warner's public defence of her husband's Test spot.

"I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. 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,” Johnson said while speaking on his podcast The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show, hosted by journalist Bharat Sundaresan.

"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.

Johnson also opened up on his attack on Bailey, revealing that he also received a text from Australia's chairman of selectors for questioning Western Australia quick Lance Morris’ withdrawal from a Sheffield Shield game to manage workload ahead of the Test summer.

"He had sent me a message after the Lance Morris article that I wrote," Johnson stated. "It was just a little bit condescending. When you receive it at all hours of the morning, it was pretty disappointing."

Responding to Johnson’s recent column, Bailey wondered, "I hope he's okay." His reaction has left the former fast bowler even more furious.  

"To ask if I'm okay because I've had mental health issues is pretty much downplaying my article and putting it on mental health, which is quite disgusting, I think," Johnson said.

"It's basically having a dig at someone's mental health and saying that I must have something going on, a mental health issue has made me say what I have said. That's not the truth. That's completely the opposite. I'm actually clear-minded.

"I'm okay. I want to make sure everyone knows that I'm okay and I'm actually in a good headspace.

"I'm not angry, I'm not jealous. I'm just writing a piece that I felt like I needed to write. I probably was set off by getting a message from him at all hours of the morning and not having the respect to make a phone call.

"I wouldn't say I was hurt by the messages. I was disappointed and it was unexpected. It probably just threw me off a bit.

"The thing I struggle with the most is not having those phone calls. I would prefer to have a conversation with those guys face-to-face or over the phone. Preferably face-to-face would be the best way to do it. So to get those messages were to me, very disrespectful."

While Johnson took complete responsibility of the article, his only regret was not removing a line in the piece suggesting "Bunnings would sell out of sandpaper".

"It was probably distasteful and something that I think didn't need to be said," Johnson 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.

"I'm not looking for attention. It's just my opinion and how I see it."