3 times a cricketer got into a verbal spat with David Warner ft. Mitchell Johnson
Veteran Australian batter David Warner has decided to retire from Test cricket after the New Year Test against Pakistan in Sydney early next year. For this, he has come under flak from wide sections of the media for seemingly going against Australian values of wishing for a farewell from the sport.
Perhaps the greatest critic of Warner's for this wish was his former teammate Mitchell Johnson. The former pacer, the hero of Australia's 2015-16 Ashes revenge, tore into Warner for this particular wish of his and asked to know if the New South Welshman had enough form heading into the series.
However, this is not the first time that a cricketer has got into a verbal spat with Warner. The opening batter is known for his volatile temper and his career is littered with incidents where he exchanged words with cricketers from across the world.
In this listicle, we bring to you three times a cricketer got into a verbal spat with David Warner:
#3 Mitchell Johnson, 2023
The issue between Mitchell Johnson and David Warner has been well documented.
Johnson, writing in his column for the Western Australian had criticized the fact that the Australian selectors bowed to the pressure of giving Warner a farewell Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground as per the batter's wishes.
Johnson said that he did not consider Warner a hero due to his involvement in the ball-tampering scandal and that giving him such a farewell was not according to Australian cricket's high standards.
Johnson also attacked selector George Bailey for being 'too close' to the players, to which the Tasmanian responded by asking the former if he was feeling well. This escalated into another war of words.
#2 Rohit Sharma, 2015
In a tri-series between Australia, England, and India, David Warner got into a verbal spat with current India captain Rohit Sharma.
In an ODI held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Warner found himself on the wrong side of the law when he engaged with Rohit, who was on strike, and was fined half his match fee by the match referee.
The issue seemed to escalate from seemingly nothing and the umpires and non-striker Suresh Raina had to come in to separate the two.
The altercation between Warner and Rohit flared when Australian players believed India had breached an unspoken convention by running an overthrow after the ball had struck the batter.
#1 Joe Root, 2013
Perhaps the biggest altercation that David Warner has had in his career was with Joe Root during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy in England. The Aussie batter was handed a £7,000 fine and essentially a one-month ban for an incident at the Walkabout Bar in Birmingham.
The issue occurred on the night when Australia were beaten by England in a group-stage fixture. The Australian team were drinking at the said bar close to their hotel when a few English players, including Root, Steven Finn, and Stuart Broad joined them.
Root tried to take the mickey out of Warner by wearing a green and gold Australian wig-like beard to which Warner took offence.
After a massive verbal spat, the issue came to blows as Warner physically assaulted Root. Cricket Australia later handed Warner a hefty fine and banned him for the rest of the tournament.