Veteran opener David Warner has broken his silence on the latest attack from former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson.
In a scathing column in The West Australian, Johnson recently questioned the “hero” send-off Warner is receiving this summer and believes Warner does not deserve it after his part in the ‘sandpaper-gate scandal’.
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“It’s been five years and 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.”
Speaking on Friday, Warner was considered when asked about the ongoing feud, and said his former teammate was entitled to his opinions, no matter how scathing.
“It wouldn’t be a summer without a headline, would it?” he told reporters in Parramatta on Friday.
“It is what it is. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinions.
“Moving forward, we’re looking forward to a nice Test over in the west.”
Warner said his parents had taught him everyday just to put his head down, “work hard”, and ignore the critics.
“My parents ingrained that (ethos) into me,” he said.
“When you get on to the world stage, you don’t realise what goes with that. There is a lot of media (attention and) a lot of criticism.
“But there are also a lot of positives. And I think what is more important is what you see today, people coming out here to support cricket, Australian cricket and cricket in general. It’s fantastic.”
Since the summer of 2020/21, Warner has managed only one Test century from 25 matches – a memorable double-hundred against South Africa in his 100th Test at the MCG in late 2022.
Australian selectors have stuck by him amid the lean stretch, which has admittedly featured two dismissals in the 90s, and are in the midst of determining his replacement beyond Sydney.
The playing group has been just as supportive in recent days.
Australian captain Pat Cummins said the players had rallied around Warner after Johnson’s brutal attack.
“I think we protect each other a lot. We have been through a lot over the years,” Cummins said.
“Our boys, I’ve played alongside someone like Davey or Steve (Smith) for a dozen years now. (We are) fiercely protective of each other.
“I think sometimes you have to remind yourself of the amount of positive support that is out there.”
It was not the first time Johnson had questioned Warner’s selection in the Test team.
Ahead of the tour of England, Johnson said Warner’s form was not “up to scratch” and did not think he should be included.
That call prompted a reaction from Warner’s wife Candice, who called Johnson irrelevant.
“It doesn’t surprise me because he doesn’t have a lot to do with media anymore and I feel like the only way he gets a headline is by using David’s name,’’ she said at the time.
Cummins is hopeful Australia can move past the saga ahead of their first home match since a successful winter that yielded wins in the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship finals as well as a drawn Ashes series in England.
The Perth Test is also set to mark Nathan Lyon’s return from the calf injury he suffered early in the Ashes.
“We’ve had arguably our most successful year ever. We’re going into a really exciting summer,” Cummins said.
“There’s so many positive things around Australian cricket I think we should be talking about and we’re focusing on that (Johnson’s column).”
– With AAP