"Maybe there is a beef" - Michael Clarke opines on Mitchell Johnson's contentious column against David Warner
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke feels that Mitchell Johnson might have a beef with David Warner. While the World Cup-winning captain agrees that former cricketers are entitled to their opinions, he reckons it shouldn't be made personal.
In his latest column for The West Australian, Johnson launched a scathing attack on Warner over his 'farewell' Test series. The former left-arm speedster reignited Warner's involvement in the sandpaper scandal and believes the 'struggling' opener doesn't deserve a heroic send-off.
Speaking on Big Sports' Breakfast, here's what the 42-year-old had to say about the Warner-Johnson saga:
"Yeah (that’s why I wonder if) maybe I’ve missed something here ... Mitch hasn’t played for years now so maybe there is a beef, I don’t know. When you’re in a role like this ... if you have an opinion and it’s based on what’s best for the team, or your experience, then go with that. But it should never be personal. I try not to make it personal and if it comes across that way you try and apologise for that because you don’t want that."
Chief selector George Bailey addressed the media after announcing Australia's squad for the first Test against Pakistan. In response to his former teammate's column, Bailey suggested that Johnson put himself in the players' shoes before giving opinions.
"Not everyone is best friends" - Michael Clarke
Clarke acknowledged that while both Johnson and Warner were strong characters, he didn't think they had a problem with one another when they played together. The former New South Wales cricketer added:
"In every sporting team. Not everybody gets on. Not everyone is best friends. Dave is a strong character, Mitch is a strong character, (they) went hard at each other in the nets. I saw that but I couldn’t sit here and say they had beef against one another when we played."
Australia recently named their 14-man squad for the first Test against Pakistan, starting on December 14th in Perth.