PAK vs AUS: David Warner Should Be Dropped From Australia Playing Says Mitchell Johnson In Brand New Attack

Mitchell Johnson, who heavily criticized David Warner in a column, wasn’t surprised by David Warner’s first-innings heroics against Pakistan. However, he stood by his view that Australia would have been better if they had replaced the veteran opener for the series. His statements sparked an explosive debate two weeks ago when he stated that David Warner didn’t deserve a farewell series because of his involvement in the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal and poor form.

David Warner replied with his bat by scoring a spectacular 164 against Pakistan in the first innings of the first test in Perth. Upon reaching his 26th Test ton, David Warner made a shushing gesture towards the Optus Stadium media center. The under-fire opener said his celebration was for anyone “who wants to write stories about me and try to get headlines”.

Mitchell Johnson said the way David Warner reacted to his criticism reminded him of former England star Kevin Pietersen. “Warner may have denied he cares about criticism of his form, but it does drive him as shown in his performance in the first innings.”

That sort of atmosphere is something Warner revels in and he is a bit like Kevin Pietersen in that regard. Pietersen loved it when someone had a go at him on or off the field, he enjoyed the challenge and got up and about and I think it’s the same with Dave.”

Mitchell Johnson Still Feels That Australia Should Have Replaced David Warner

David Warner got out for a duck in the second inning. However, his memorable first-innings century ensures that he makes it all the way through to his chosen farewell test at the SCG. The former Australian pacer stood by his criticism from two weeks ago, again highlighting Warner’s string of low scores in Tests for the past three years.

Mitchell Johnson also feels that Australia missed out on a golden opportunity to inject new players into an ageing team during an easy summer, rather than waiting for the upcoming home series against tough opponents like England and India.

“They could have given some new guys some really good time out in the middle this summer and backed them in. That’s going to be much harder across the next two summers when India and England visit for a five-test series,” Johnson said.

Australia won the first test as they bundled Pakistan for a meager 89 in the last innings. They won the match by 360 runs as Pakistan were mediocre while chasing 450. Australia declared the innings on Day 4 with 233/5 on the scoreboard and Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc did the demolition job for Australia sharing three wickets each, Nathan Lyon took two wickets while skipper Pat Cummins took one scalp.

The two teams will move to Melbourne for the traditional ‘Boxing Day’ Test commencing on the 26th of December and then will play the last test of the series in Sydney where David Warner will bid adieu to the red-ball format. David Warner has had a terrific career for Australia in tests. With his recent ton, Warner has become the fifth-highest run-getter for Australia in test cricket surpassing Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden.