“I'm not going to throw my name into some headlines about this” - Glenn Maxwell reacts to Mitchell Johnson’s column on David Warner
Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has refused to get drawn into the controversy over Mitchell Johnson’s scathing column on David Warner and the aftermath. He instead urged fans to celebrate the fact that the Aussies are Test as well as ODI world champions.
A massive controversy erupted in Australian cricket after Johnson attacked Warner and chief selector George Bailey in a column in The West Australian, questioning a Test farewell for the veteran opener.
Admitting that there has been a lot of talk around the same, Maxwell told SEN Radio:
“There's a lot of chat around it (the Johnson and Warner saga). But I think coming into this first Test, we've just got to make sure that as Australians we're supporting our team and we're celebrating how successful this team has been over the two-year period of the World Test Championship cycle.
The 35-year-old stated that beating India in the WTC 2023 final after failing to reach the summit clash in the previous cycle was an extremely special achievement.
“It'd be nice to celebrate them this summer and the same thing goes with the One Day group, we play against the West Indies at the back end of the summer. I'm hoping Australia just gets around both teams who have had extremely successful periods,” Maxwell commented.
As for the Johnson-Warner-Bailey controversy, all the cricketer had to say was:
“I'm not going to throw my name into some headlines about this.”
Maxwell was a key member of the Australian squad that won the 2023 World Cup in India. He smashed the fastest ODI World Cup hundred against the Netherlands and a stunning double hundred against Afghanistan.
“Davey's been an absolute champion of Australian cricket” - Maxwell on Warner
Even as he refused to share his thoughts on Johnson’s criticism of Warner, Maxwell hailed the veteran Aussie opener as a champion cricketer.
“Davey's been an absolute champion of Australian cricket for a long period of time and the selectors were pretty clear on what they thought of it (selecting him),” he said.
“I'm looking forward to seeing Davey in that first Test and him making a lot of runs this summer,” the all-rounder added.
Earlier this year, Warner had confirmed that the series against Pakistan, which begins on December 14, will be his last in the Test format.