‘My opinion still valid’ - Mitchell Johnson doubles down on earlier comment on David Warner after latter's Perth century

Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson took the cricket world by storm after his recent comments on veteran opener David Warner. Johnson recently came forward to question why the opener is getting a hero’s farewell from Test cricket after his involvement in the ball-tampering incident in 2018.  

Furthermore, Johnson also criticised Warner’s form in the longest format and opined that it did not warrant him to set a date for himself to retire from Tests. However, Warner shut down his critics after his sensational 164-run knock against Pakistan in the first innings of the first Test.

Seeing his knock, Johnson was once again not impressed and opined that his opinion on Warner was still valid as to whether the younger players should be given a chance in the squad in the longest format.

“I think my opinion in this column a couple of weeks ago is still valid. He hadn’t scored runs in about three years apart from the double century last summer. Another point made was that a soft summer like this, with Australia expected to comfortably beat Pakistan and the West Indies, was the perfect time to look at blooding some new players into an ageing team,” Mitchell Johnson wrote in the West Australian.

No great surprise in some ways: Johnson

He also stated that Warner’s knock against Pakistan was no great surprise, and opined that the veteran batter plays his best cricket on home soil and plays brilliantly under pressure.

“David Warner’s century on the first day of the Australian Test summer was no great surprise in some ways. There was a big media spotlight on Warner and his form, and he seems to be at his most motivated when backed into a corner, and he generally saves his best for home soil,” Johnson wrote. 

“On day one, Warner rode his luck early on — and it could have gone either way — and you take that and he went on to make 164. He did what he was paid to do in the first innings before Saturday’s duck in the second innings. Warner may have denied he cares about criticism of his form, but it definitely does drive him as shown in his performance in the first innings,” he added.