Mitchell Johnson Lashes Out At Cricket Australia For Inviting Him To An Award Ceremony After Axing Him From Two Speaking Engagements

Mitchell Johnson lashed out at Cricket Australia (CA) for inviting him to an awards night just a week after the board canceled his two speaking engagements which were scheduled during the Perth Test. Cricket Australia axed two of the guest-speaking jobs of Mitchell Johnson after his highly controversial column on David Warner.

The former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson kept quiet after it was revealed that CA had axed him from the paid talks. However, the former left-arm pacer was quick to lash out on social media after receiving an invite to the 2024 Australian Cricket Awards from the CA.

“Is Cricket Australia serious??,” Johnson wrote on Instagram, including a screenshot of his invite and a cryptic song.  “Last week I was canceled from 2 speaking engagements. This week I’m invited to celebrate with them.”

Mitchell Johnson launched a scathing attack on David Warner, his former Australia teammate. He wrote about the opener’s “hero send-off” and opened up old wounds from the Sandpapergate scandal in an explosive article for The West Australian. The former Australian pacer was also critical of George Bailey’s position as the chief selector, saying that Bailey had a conflict of interest in deciding on David Warner’s future.

After receiving heavy criticism, David Warner chose to reply with his bat as he slammed his 26th Test ton in the first test scoring 164 in the first innings against Pakistan. With this innings, he has cemented his spot for the farewell test at the SCG. After scoring his century he pointed towards the media box of the Optus Stadium in Perth and stated after the innings that his celebration was for anyone who wanted to make the headlines after using his name.

David Warner Refused To Reply To Mitchell Johnson’s Column About Him

“I tried to ring (Warner) to talk to him about it, which I’ve always been open about with the guys,” he explained on his Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show podcast with broadcaster Bharat Sundaresan. “It was never a personal thing then. Until that point. That is what prompted me to write the article, or part of it, as well. It’s definitely a factor.”

David Warner has refused to say anything about Johnson’s statement saying that he is entitled to have his opinion. David Warner will be in action at the MCG for the second Test against Pakistan starting on December 26. He has already made an impact in the first Test scoring 164 off 211 deliveries against Pakistan on a bouncy Peth deck.

Mitchell Johnson was still critical about Warner’s selection in the team after he scored a hundred in the first Test. Johnson still thinks that Australia wasted a chance to introduce a new opener in the squad before the England and India test series. He thought that this series was the perfect time to get into a young squad and get them prepared for the upcoming challenge.

The Mitchell Johnson-David Warner saga has been going on around for a month and David Warner has replied to all the criticism with his bat. Meanwhile, Johnson lost two speaking jobs and then was invited to attend an award ceremony which somewhat doesn’t make any sense according to him.