Watch the emotional moment as David Warner celebrates his century against Pakistan as under-fire Australian star Mitchell Johnson remains silent amid a barrage of criticism

David Warner has responded to his critics in the best possible way by smashing a century against Pakistan to kick off his farewell celebrations in style.

Warner, 37, has been the subject of intense scrutiny this week ahead of the Perth Test, with his former teammate Mitchell Johnson questioning the opener’s place in the squad.

He has long expressed his ambition to leave Test cricket this summer, with a swan song from Sydney, but Johnson has insisted Warner does not deserve such a farewell amid a string of poor performances.

But Warner demonstrated he has earned his place in the team, reaching a century on the opening day of the first Test at Optus Stadium.

The 37-year-old started his summer perfectly with a ton on day one

His place in the Australia Test team had been called into question due to terrible form

He let out a roar of emotion as he passed triple figures, and sent a message to Johnson and all the other critics during the tea break.

“There will be criticism, but you have to accept it and there is no better way to silence it than by putting points on the board,” he told Adam Gilchrist.

Warner received support from an unlikely source ahead of Thursday’s opening day, with England legend Michael Vaughan defending the opener.

‘He’s one of the greats. I don’t understand why people don’t say he’s a great player,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.

“The fact that he’s made mistakes in the past, I think, there’s friction with him and some ex-players (and) I think there’s friction with him and some Australian supporters.

‘(But) if you put all that aside and look at his numbers, he has only suffered once and that was his batting in England against Stuart Broad around the wicket.

Former teammate Mitchell Johnson wondered if Warner deserves a farewell party

“Furthermore, he has been dominated pretty much wherever he plays and has played T20 cricket, 50-over cricket and Test match cricket. His track record here in Australia is fantastic.

“You talk about the greats of the game and I go back to the late 1990s and early 2000s, that great Australian side, (and) not many of them have 25 Test match centuries.

‘Yet here we are, with a player like David Warner, who is three Test matches away from retirement, and all the talk is: ‘Should he get that chance to play in Sydney?’