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Regarding Mitchell Johnson’s criticism of his
retirement intentions, David Warner has spoken out, stating that his former
teammate has the right to voice any harsh ideas he may have.
In response to Australian captain Pat Cummins’
statement that the Test team will be “fiercely protective” of the
seasoned opener in the event of outside attacks, Warner has refrained from
adding fuel to the fire.
After Australia plays Pakistan on his home deck at the
SCG in the third and final game of the series, which starts in Perth next week,
Warner hopes to end an extraordinary Test career.
However, in a newspaper essay over the weekend,
Johnson exposed old wounds by bringing up Warner’s involvement in the
“Sandpapergate” ball-tampering scandal and questioned if Warner had
been in good enough shape to decide when to retire.
Although Warner laughed off the remarks when he first
addressed them, the severity of Johnson’s criticism—which included the
suggestion that “Bunnings would sell out of sandpaper”—has drawn
criticism.
“It wouldn’t be a summer without a headline,
would it?” he said at the launch of Fox Cricket’s summer coverage in
Parramatta on Friday. “It is what it is. Everyone’s entitled to their own
opinions. Moving forward, we’re looking forward to a nice Test over in the
west.”
“I think we protect each other a lot,”
Cummins said. “We’ve been through a lot over the years, our boys. Someone
like Davey or Steve [Smith], I’ve played with them for a dozen years now so
we’re fiercely protective of each other.
“Sometimes you’ve got to remind yourself of the
amount of positive support that is out there.”
Warner, focused on ending his career on a high, said
he learned long ago to knuckle down in the face of criticism like Johnson’s.
“My parents ingrained that into me,” he
said. “They taught me every day to fight and work hard. When you go onto
the world stage and you don’t realise what comes with that, it’s a lot of
media, a lot of criticism but a lot of positive.
“I think what’s more important is what you see
here today, the people coming out to support cricket.”