Former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson has disclosed the motivation behind his outburst, which he directed against his former teammate and current Australia opener David Warner, two days ago. “Hero’s sendoff”? Warner doesn’t deserve one, according to Johnson, who took aim at the Australian opener and rekindled the ball-tampering scandal. The Pakistan series is Warner’s final one. The 42-year-old had also criticised Australia’s head selector Geroge Bailey for sticking with Warner despite his recent bad performances.
Johnson disclosed that he received a text message from Warner earlier this year following his essay in which he supported the spouse of the southpaw.
Johnson acknowledged that the ball-tampering incident and Warner’s “quite personal” text message were the driving forces behind his West Australian essay, even if he did not go into great detail about them.
Dave sent me a note that was very private. I made an attempt to call him and try to talk to him about it; I’ve always been willing to listen. When I finished playing, I knew that I was honest with the guys. In an interview with The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show, the former Australia bowler remarked, “Just come and speak to me if I’m in the media and writing things or saying things that you don’t like.”
“Until now, it was never a personal matter. I think that the text part was the reason I wrote the piece, it was also motivated by his text. It undoubtedly played a role. I won’t say some of the things that were expressed in that. If Dave wants to talk about it, I believe he should say it. He stated, “There were some really disappointing things in there, and to be honest, it was pretty bad.”
Johnson took Bailey’s response to his essay about Warner as a jab at Warner’s mental state, and for that reason, he was equally incensed.
“It’s pretty much downplaying my article and placing it on mental health to question if I’m okay because I’ve had mental health issues, which is rather horrible, I believe. It’s essentially making fun of someone else’s mental state of mind by implying that I must be dealing with something because my comments were prompted by a mental health problem. That isn’t accurate. That is the exact opposite. I have a clear head,” he joked.
Bailey had stated, “I’ve been sent little snippets of it – I hope he’s OK,” in response to Johnson’s writing about Warner.
Usman Khawaja another Australian cricketer came up in support of David and defended the opener by calling him a hero. The Australian cricket members are undergoing great turmoil and it’s very disappointing for cricket fans to see such kinds of stuff. Despite all, it is also very necessary to hear both ends and maintain respect and fair play in the gentleman’s game.