3 Australian cricket pairs who had a beef ft. David Warner and Mitchell Johnson
Despite Australia producing world-class players over the years and perhaps having the richest history in the game, there have been several instances when their players have had fallouts with each other.
Taking a dig at your former teammates after retirement or expressing the tiffs of the past in their autobiographies, we have seen a fair share of off-field drama involving the Australian cricketers.
Most recently, it was former Australian speedster Mitchell Johnson who launched a scathing attack and stinging criticism at David Warner after his inclusion in the Australian Test team for the series against Pakistan.
In what will be Warner's farewell Test series, Johnson failed to understand how Warner, who was at the center of the sandpaper gate, deserved a hero's send-off.
In his column for The West Australian, Johnson questioned Warner's privilege of receiving a farewell series when he has been woefully out of touch in this format.
Johnson, who loves speaking his heart out, mentioned the Sandpaper Gate scandal as well and felt a player involved in a disgraceful act like that didn't deserve the send-off.
“As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why? Why a struggling Test opener gets to nominate his own retirement date and why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrant a hero’s send-off?” Johnson questioned.
Johnson further clarified what made him launch the attack on Warner. Speaking on his podcast 'The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show', Johnson revealed that it was a text message from David Warner, which he received in April, that played a role in his comments on Warner.
"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.
"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," Johnson further added.
Personal tiffs have always been prevalent in Australian circles. Having said that, let us look back at three notable spats involving the Australian players.
#3 Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds was an established member of the Australian side when Michael Clarke made his international debut for Australia, and the two gelled together instantly.
They became close and often used to bat and spend time together. However, it was when Symonds was in the twilight of his career that all hell broke loose as their friendship hit the rocks.
Symonds, while speaking on the Brett Lee podcast back in 2016, revealed that Clarke became jealous when Symonds became one of the most sought-after players in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Owing to his exploits with bat and ball coupled with the ability to decimate any bowling attack, the former Australian all-rounder became the most expensive overseas signing in the inaugural IPL auction.
“Matthew Hayden said to me — when the IPL started, I got a pretty penny to go and play in the IPL — he identified it as there was a bit of jealousy that potentially came into the relationship (with Clarke) there. Money does funny things. It’s a good thing but it can be a poison and I reckon it may have poisoned our relationship," he said.
“I’ve got enough respect for him to probably not go into detail about what was said. My friendship with him is no longer and I’m comfortable with that, but I’m not gonna sit here and start slinging mud," Symonds added.
Symonds felt let down by Clarke when he was sent home halfway through an ODI series for choosing fishing over attending a team meeting.
Symonds had also criticized Clarke's captaincy style, to which Clarke responded by saying that a player turning up drunk to play an ODI is not the right person to judge him on his captaincy.
“Andrew Symonds went on TV to criticise my leadership. I’m sorry, but he is not a person to judge anyone on leadership. This is a guy who turned up drunk to play for his country. It’s pretty rich for him to be throwing rocks," Clarke wrote in his 2015 Ashes diary.
It was during an episode of Cricket Legends in 2018 when Symonds revealed that his friendship with Symonds was destroyed forever after he threw a drink on the former Australian skipper after Clarke had made a character assessment, which Symonds revealed was nowhere near accurate.
#2 Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton
The greatest ever cricketer to have walked into a cricket field, Don Bradman's cricketing exploits remain unmatched. His batting average of 99.94 is perhaps the only record in cricket that cannot be broken. Despite being the greatest cricketer, Bradman tended to get into altercations with Catholic members of the team.
In a Fingleton biography, it was alleged that Bradman learned that Fingleton's bat was sprinkled with holy water by a Catholic bishop. When Fingleton departed cheaply, Bradman was the next man in, and he didn't hesitate to sledge him and say, "We will see what a dry bat will do out there."
If stories emerging during those times are to be believed, Fingleton leaked a story during the Bodyline Series but always believed it was Bradman who was the one at fault and was the reason why he wasn't selected for the England tour in 1934.
#1 Steve Waugh and Shane Warne
Former Australian captain Steve Waugh and Shane Warne's relationship became untenable at one stage, but still, the players continued playing with each other till Waugh's retirement in 2003.
It all started during Australia's tour of the West Indies in 1999, which also happened to be Steve's maiden Test series as the Australian skipper.
Australia were 1-2 behind and needed a win to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy. Warne was returning to the national team from a shoulder injury and looked far from his best.
He had just bagged two wickets in three matches in the lead-up to the Test. Stuart MacGill had taken seven wickets, and Waugh decided to select Colin Miller, an off-spinner, for the final Test.
“It was my first tour as captain to West Indies. As a captain, you are expected to make difficult decisions. That’s why you are given the job. You are not there to please everyone,” Waugh said.
“I always wanted to be loyal to be my players to a certain point, but at the end of the day, you gotta be loyal to the team and their performance," Waugh added while speaking to Michael Atherton on Sky Sports Cricket's YouTube Channel.
Looking back, Waugh felt that it was the right decision, but it wasn't an easy decision to make. Waugh revealed that he was trying to protect Warne, who wasn't bowling anywhere close to his best at the time.
Warne was furious with his ouster and continued to bash the former Australian skipper publicly, also terming him the most selfish cricketer he has played with.
“There are lots of reasons I don’t like Steve Waugh ... (one of them) because he’s the most selfish cricketer I’ve played with,” Warne said.
“I don’t like Steve Waugh for a lot of other reasons, but that (the dropping) was the reason I thought (there was no way that relationship would recover).”
Waugh had remained tight-lipped about the incident before finally disclosing his views on it. While Waugh said he tried to protect Warne as he was not bowling well, Warne felt that he wasn't backed by his skipper.