Former Australia quick bowler Mitchell Johnson launched a sensational assault on David Warner and chief selector George Bailey, asking why the veteran opener was given the posh of a farewell Test. Johnson slammed Warner for ‘by no means proudly owning’ the ball-tampering scandal.
Former Australia quick bowler Mitchell Johnson has expressed sturdy reservations in regards to the deliberate farewell for David Warner, stirring controversy along with his feedback on the chief selector and bringing up the Sandpaper Gate scandal.
In response to the discussions surrounding David Warner’s anticipated farewell Test in January, Johnson accused chief selector George Bailey of being ‘too shut’ to sure gamers, implying potential biases in staff choices. Johnson questioned why Warner, who has been concerned in vital controversies in Australian cricket, together with the Sandpaper Gate scandal, needs to be granted a hero’s send-off.
In an op-ed for Western Australia, Johnson criticized Warner’s lack of acknowledgment of his position within the ball-tampering scandal and questioned the choice to enable a struggling Test opener to decide his personal retirement date. Johnson expressed considerations in regards to the perceived conceitedness and disrespect mirrored in Warner’s request for a farewell Test.
“As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why? Why does a struggling Test opener get to dictate his own retirement date? And why does a player at the center of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrant a hero’s send-off?” Johnson wrote.
Johnson additionally scrutinized Bailey’s position as chief selector, highlighting Bailey’s shut relationship with gamers, together with Tim Paine, who confronted a sexting scandal in 2021. Johnson identified Bailey’s choice to distance himself from Paine’s destiny, leaving it to others to deal with, and questioned whether or not Bailey’s swift transition from enjoying to the position of chief selector had affected his impartiality.
“The handling of Warner in recent years, who played with Bailey in all three forms, raises the question of whether Bailey was simply too quickly out of playing and into the job and too close to some of the players,” Johnson remarked.
As Warner prepares for the upcoming Test sequence in opposition to Pakistan, Johnson’s feedback add a layer of controversy to the discussions surrounding the opener’s farewell, elevating broader questions in regards to the choice course of and the moral concerns in celebrating gamers concerned in previous controversies.
