Australia’s opening batter David Warner has finally opened up on former teammate Mitchell Johnson’s scathing attack over his Test retirement plans.
Speaking on the matter, the 37-year-old batter didn’t name Johnson but mentioned that “everyone’s entitled to their own opinions”.
“It wouldn’t be a summer without a headline, would it?
“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 at the launch of Fox Cricket’s summer coverage in Parramatta on Friday as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
“My parents ingrained that into me. They taught me every day to fight and work hard. When you go onto the world stage and you don’t realise what comes with that, it’s a lot of media, a lot of criticism but a lot of positive.
“I think what’s more important is what you see here today, the people coming out to support cricket,” he added.
For the unversed, Johnson was very critical of Warner over him getting the opportunity to decide his Test farewell despite not scoring enough runs in the past few years.
“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?” wrote Johnson in his column in The West Australian.
Notably, Australia’s Test skipper Pat Cummins has also come out in support of Warner amid Johnson’s barrage of volleys targetted towards the veteran opener.
“I think we protect each other a lot,” Cummins said.
“We’ve been through a lot over the years, our boys. Someone like Davey or Steve (Smith), I’ve played with them for a dozen years now so we’re fiercely protective of each other.
“Sometimes you’ve got to remind yourself of the amount of positive support that is out there,” the Aussie skipper added.