Mitchell Johnson reveals ‘factor’ that prompted his tirade against Warner, targets selector Bailey

Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson’s tirade against David Warner caught fire in Australian cricket. The former Aussie pacer launched a scathing attack on his compatriot and targeted him on his desire to get a farewell Test. Johnson called Warner ‘a struggling Test opener’ and highlighted that he has ‘never really owned the ball-tampering scandal’.

Two days after his column in The West Australian, Johnson has revealed the factor that played a part in his polemic. The Aussie star stated that his rant came after a personal message from Warner in April. It was in reply to Johnson’s column which he wrote after the batter’s wife Candice supported Warner’s place in the Test team. He stated that the message and Warner’s desire for a farewell Test were the reasons why he wrote the column.

Now, Johnson has opened up about the reason on his podcast The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show. I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it, which I’ve always been open to. I know I’ve been open to the guys when I finished playing. I said if I’m in the media and writing things or saying things that you don’t like, just come and speak to me,” Johnson said in the show hosted by Bharat Sundaresan.

“It was never a personal thing then until this point. This is probably what drove me to write the article as well, part of it. It was definitely a factor. Some of the stuff that was said in that, I won’t say it. I think that’s up to Dave to say it if he wants to talk about it. There was some stuff in there that was extremely disappointing, what he said, and pretty bad to be honest,” he added.

Johnson targets Aussie selector Bailey

The pacer targeted Australia’s selector Geroge Bailey, who queried whether Johnson was okay or not. After seeing the pacer’s statements, Bailey said, “I’ve been sent little snippets of it – I hope he’s OK.” Johnson now called his statement disgusting. 

“To ask if I’m okay because I’ve had mental health issues is pretty much downplaying my article and putting it on mental health, which is quite disgusting, I think. It’s basically having a dig at someone’s mental health and saying that I must have something going on, a mental health issue has made me say what I have said. That’s not the truth. That’s completely the opposite. I’m actually clear-minded,” Johnson said.

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