'History warrants a hero’s send-off?': Ex-AUS pacer blasts David Warner, critiques farewell series

In what could be gauged as a jaw-dropping statement, Mitchell Johnson has lashed out at former teammate David Warner and termed him non-deserved to get a farewell Test match. During the Ashes 2023, Warner revealed his plan to retire from Test cricket and pointed out the Pakistan series, which is now scheduled to start soon, as the final chapter of his Test career. Ahead of the start of the series, Aussie selectors have corroborated his demand to play a farewell test, a move that did not land well with Johnson.

3 things you need to know

• Mitchell Johnson slams David Warner
• Johnson apparently considers Warner unworthy of a farewell
• Johnson and Warner were teammates for almost 6 years

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Mitchell Johnson criticises David Warner

Controversy has sparked in Australian cricket, as one of the stalwarts of the sport has questioned the credibility of another heavyweight of the game. Mitchell Johnson and David Warner shared the Australian dressing room for a good part of 6 years, however, it seems the camaraderie has been shaken.

Through his Sunday column in The West Australian, Johnson has slammed Warner for not coming up clean for the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. He further said that the way he is being treated and being allowed to go is a matter of disrespect to the country.

“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?”

“Although Warner wasn’t alone in Sandpapergate, he was at the time a senior member of the team and someone who liked to use his perceived power as a ‘leader’.

“Does this really warrant a swansong, a last hurrah against Pakistan that was forecast a year in advance as if he was bigger than the game and the Australian cricket team?”

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Johnson's take on Warner's batting record

Johnson hits out at selectors for letting Warner pick his “retirement date.” Moreover, he also questioned his stature as “hero.”

“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?

Johnson elaborates his stance by highlighting Warner's performance in Test cricket in the last three years. 

“Warner certainly isn’t Australia’s Test captain and never deserved to be for that matter. In fact, he ends his career under a lifetime leadership ban. Yes, he has a decent overall record and some say is one of our greatest opening bats. But his past three years in Test cricket have been ordinary, with a batting average closer to what a tailender would be happy with.

“Granted he made his double century against South Africa at the MCG last summer, but they were the only runs he had scored in years. Leading into this year’s Ashes series that was the only time he had reached 50 in his previous 17 Test innings.”