Mitchell Johnson Dropped as Guest Speaker by Cricket Australia After Warner Critique

Melbourne, Dec 19: Cricket Australia (CA) has removed former fast bowler Mitchell Johnson from two guest speaking engagements at Optus Stadium following his critical article about ex-teammate David Warner.

Johnson was initially scheduled to speak at two lunches during the Perth Test against Pakistan starting on December 14. However, CA decided to withdraw Johnson as a guest speaker due to the strong criticism he directed at Warner and Bailey in a controversial column for The West Australian.

A CA spokesman stated, “Mitchell is one of Australia’s most celebrated bowlers, but we felt on this occasion it was in everyone’s best interests that he was not the guest speaker at the CA functions.” Australian cricket legend Mike Hussey reportedly stepped in as the replacement speaker for the lunch events.

In his column, Johnson had expressed harsh views about Warner, suggesting that he did not deserve a hero’s farewell at the SCG due to his involvement in the Sandpaper gate scandal in 2018. Despite the criticism, Warner silenced his detractors with a remarkable century (164 off 211 balls) on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan. Warner’s innings also propelled him into the top five run-getters for Australia in Test cricket, surpassing Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke in the process. Additionally, his big hundred elevated him above swashbucklers Sir Viv Richards and Virender Sehwag in the all-time list.