Prior to the Pakistan Test series, Australia’s head selector has addressed Mitchell Johnson’s criticism of David Warner.
The selection of Australia’s Test team against Pakistan has not been without criticism. Mitchell Johnson, a former Australian player, took exception with David Warner’s involvement in the series and further stoked the ball-tampering scandal. Johnson criticized Warner, stating that the southpaw should not be given a “hero’s sendoff” because the Pakistan series would be his final one.
Furthermore, Johnson took aim at George Bailey, Australia’s head selector, for choosing Warner despite his subpar Test performance.
“Chairman of selectors George Bailey stated he didn’t want to be involved in determining then-captain Tim Paine’s fate because the two were close friends when his career was about to end due to the sexting incident. “It begs the question of whether Bailey was simply too quick to transition from playing to the job and too close to some of the players,” Johnson wrote in his blog for The West Australian, citing Warner’s treatment in recent years, who played with Bailey in all three forms.
In response to a question regarding Johnson’s remarks, Bailey expressed his hope that the latter are okay.
Small excerpts of it have been sent to me. I hope everything is well with him. I’m not sure [whether he is]. My sole impression is that I’d be open to learning how being aloof and ignorant of what players are going through and the team’s and the coaching staff’s plans are more advantageous, stated Bailey.
The chief selector for Australia reacts to Mitchell Johnson’s criticism of David Warner ahead of the Tests against Pakistan
Warner has played in 109 Test matches for Australia, amassing 8487 runs at an average of 44.33. That is his record in Test cricket. Throughout his red-ball career for the Australians, he has amassed 25 hundreds and 36 half-centuries.
Warner’s Test average has dropped to just 31.79 since 2020, though. However, Bailey believes that in the longest format, he is among Australia’s best players.
“We still believe he is among our best 11 players to win the opening Test,” the statement reads. Every Test matters in Test cricket, in my opinion, as far as the World Test Championship points are concerned. Each game has points at stake. “So our focus is very much on picking the 11 that we think can do the job and obviously there’re roles within that for each individual and how that actually structures up the team as a whole; and we think David is the right person for that for this Test,” Bailey explained.
Bailey said that Australia is actively searching for Warner’s replacement.
It’s important to take seriously the unique power to exert pressure on the opposition. It’s vital to keep the expectations of the person taking over from there moderate, especially when that person has been so long-serving and dominant in the role.”
“I consider how many spinners were brought in and then moved out in an attempt to nearly mimic Warnie, as well as how Warnie ended up being a spinner. When someone has performed a part for as long as they have, you never really try to duplicate them, in my opinion.”
Given how long he has opened the batting for Australia, I would classify David in that group. We therefore definitely pay attention to that in order to ensure that the fit after David is ideal.”
