"Rode his luck early on and it could have gone either way" - Mitchell Johnson amplifies his earlier take on David Warner
Mitchell Johnson continued to validate his claims on David Warner despite the opener scoring a masterful century on Day 1 of the ongoing first Test against Pakistan in Perth.
In an earlier column, Johnson claimed Warner received preferential treatment. The former pacer added that Warner did not deserve a farewell Test series, considering his recent form and the Sandpaper scandal.
However, Warner responded by scoring 164 off 211 deliveries on the opening day to silence his critics. Warner also celebrated by placing his hand to the mouth in what felt like a shot at Johnson.
In a follow-up column for the West Australian, Johnson felt Warner rode his luck en route to his century and that his opinion was still valid.
"I think my opinion in this column a couple of weeks ago is still valid. He hadn't scored runs in about three years apart from the double century last summer. On day one Warner rode his luck early on — and it could have gone either way — and you take that and he went on to make 164. He did what he was paid to do in the first innings before Saturday's duck in the second innings," Johnson wrote.
Johnson added that despite Warner's denial about his criticism, it drove the veteran batter to put in a big performance.
"Warner may have denied he cares about criticism of his form, but it definitely does drive him as shown in his performance in the first innings. David Warner's century on the first day of the Australian Test summer was no great surprise in some ways. There was a big media spotlight on Warner and his form and he seems to be at his most motivated when backed into a corner and he generally saves his best for home soil," Johnson added.
It was Warner's 26th Test century and his 20th in Australia, helping the side to a massive 487 in their first innings.
Before the century in the ongoing game, the 37-year-old had recorded the lone three-figure score in 25 Tests since the start of 2021.
"He is a bit like Kevin Pietersen was in that regard" - Mitchell Johnson
Mitchell Johnson felt David Warner rises to the occasion much like former England batter Kevin Pietersen, adding that it did not surprise him that the southpaw scored a century in the series opener against Pakistan.
However, the former left-arm pacer believed the Aussie selectors missed a trick by not trying the newer options in a relatively easy home series.
"That sort of atmosphere is something Warner revels in and he is a bit like Kevin Pietersen was in that regard. Another point made was that a soft summer like this, with Australia expected to comfortably beat Pakistan and the West Indies, was the perfect time to look at blooding some new players into an ageing team," wrote Johnson.
He added:
"They could have given some new guys some really good time out in the middle this summer and backed them in. That's going to be much harder across the next two summers when India and England visit for five-Test series. It seems they've got their own plans in place for selection and how they see things. But they are going to be confronted by a changing of the guard at some point soon."
Meanwhile, the hosts are in a dominant position to capture a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series against Pakistan.
After scoring 487, the Aussie bowlers restricted the visitors to 271 and expanded their lead to 386 at 170/4 in their second essay.