"When It Gets Personal..." - Mark Taylor Breaks Silence On David Warner vs Mitchell Johnson Saga

The Mitchell Johnson vs David Warner controversy does not seem to be going well with former Australian skipper Mark Taylor. He has finally broken his silence on the matter with the Test series against Pakistan approaching.

Mitchell Johnson had criticized Cricket Australia’s decision to give David Warner a farewell Test at his home ground in Sydney. Warner had already made a public announcement of retiring from Test cricket after playing the third and final Test against Pakistan at the SCG from January 3-7, 2024.

Johnson had previously written an article regarding Warner’s poor numbers in Test cricket in the recent past. Warner’s wife Candice made public defense of her husband’s Test position on the Fox Sports television show, The Back Page.

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Now Mark Taylor the former Australian skipper said that he should not have made personal remarks on David Warner and his family. Speaking to Speaking on 2GB’s Wide World of Sports, Taylor assessed the incident as a commentator for the Nine Network.

“I think as commentators, and Mitchell Johnson is now a commentator like me, you have got to look at things, analyse things and comment but you’ve got to try and take the personalities out of it. I don’t have a problem with anyone talking about numbers, facts [and] data but when it gets personal, that’s what you don’t want, and I think Mitch has already admitted that he made a mistake in that regard” said Mark Taylor.

“But, there’s nothing wrong in my opinion as a commentator with someone like Mitchell Johnson making a comment about whether he thinks George Bailey should have done this or should have done that. That’s OK but make sure it’s based on facts and data rather than personal feelings. That’s probably the only problem out of all of it” he further added.

David Warner Will Open With Usman Khawaja Against Pakistan: Mark Taylor

The former Australian skipper further said that David Warner will open with Usman Khwaja against Pakistan while the search for his successor is an afterthought.

“For the next three Test matches that’s going to be the case. I’m sure the selectors would have thought, ‘Do we make a change now’ and that would have been the thing they would have tossed up based on the fact that David has not been in great form in red-ball cricket — obviously in white ball cricket he’s been terrific. The last three years have not been very profitable for him but he’s been a great player for a long time” Taylor concluded saying.

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