Mitchell Johnson reveals a text message from David Warner that was ‘quite personal’ was the catalyst for an explosive column questioning the outgoing Test player’s SCG swan song

Mitchell Johnson has blamed a text message from David Warner for sparking his scathing attack on his former Australian cricket teammate.

Johnson wrote in his column for The West that Warner “has not warranted a hero’s farewell” this summer, despite the opening batsman’s long and decorated career.

The comment has opened old wounds between the pair, after Johnson previously called for his former teammate to be dropped from the Test side during The Ashes, prompting a response from Warner’s wife Candice.

Warner plans to retire from Test cricket with a farewell match at the SCG in the New Year match against Pakistan in January.

In his column, Johnson said Warner does not deserve a staged farewell for his central role in the 2018 sandpaper scandal, which seriously damaged the reputation of Australian cricket.

But Johnson has now claimed that the motivation for his uncompromising piece was a sour text message Warner sent his former teammate in April.

“I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal, and I tried to call him and talk to him about it,” Johnson said on The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show podcast.

‘It was never anything personal until that moment. That is what prompted me to write this article, or part of it. It’s definitely a factor. Some things he mentioned in that message.

“I won’t say because that’s up to Dave to say if he wants to talk about it. There were things in there that were extremely disappointing, what he said, and quite bad to be honest. That was quite a driver.’

Johnson also took a swipe at chief selector George Bailey in his column, suggesting he was too close to the playing group to make the tough decisions and questioning why WA paceman Lance Morris was rested from the Sheffield Shield matches.

“He messaged me after the Lance Morris article. It was just a bit condescending. Typical George-esque stuff. If you were receiving at odd hours in the morning, it was disappointing,” Johnson said.

Johnson has since responded to Bailey’s public response, saying: “I hope he (Johnson) is doing well.”

Johnson took that response as a manifestation of his previous mental health issues.

‘To ask if I’m okay [by George Bailey] “Because I’ve had mental health issues, I’m downplaying my article and putting it on mental health, which is kind of disgusting,” he said.

‘I’m fine. I am not angry. I’m not jealous. I’m just writing a piece that I felt like I had to write.

“It’s basically examining someone’s mental health and saying there must be something going on, a mental health problem, that makes me say what I said. That’s not the truth.’

Johnson also doubled down on his attacks on Warner in the podcast.

‘It feels like it connects. The selectors have talked about picking guys based on form,” Johnson said.

‘If you look at the form of David, because the article is about him. His form in England wasn’t great. So you assume that you don’t choose someone on a form.

I have also written good articles about David. I’ve always said that I’m a very different thinker. I am not a traditional cricketer. At a young age I didn’t play much. I didn’t grow up with it as much as others. I always questioned things and had a different thought process.

“And I was probably outraged when I received a message from him [Bailey] at odd hours in the morning and he didn’t show the respect to call. It’s pretty much that.’

James Erskine, Warner’s agent, branded Johnson’s tirade “a bit sad” and defended his client’s career record despite his role in encouraging the use of hidden sandpaper to illegally alter the ball during a Test series in South Africa in 2018, resulting in a lengthy ban from the sport and a tearful apology.

“Mitchell Johnson was a great player… and he’s entitled to his opinion. But ultimately what surprises me is all these ex-cricketers who actually have a crack at the current situation,” he said at SEN’s Sports Day.

“It’s a bit sad in a way. I’m sure they have an opinion, but I think it’s a headline.

“If anyone listening thought David Warner wanted to play Test cricket for Australia if he didn’t think he could handle it, they’re wrong. He’s been a fighter all his life, he’s a guy from the wrong side of the tracks, he’s a guy who’s gone and scraped a living and been very successful at it.

‘But he doesn’t want a swan song, he thinks he is the best man for the job. I think the numbers show it.”

Former Australian Test captain Tim Paine felt Johnson had gone too far in his criticism of Warner.

“Some of his points about his (Warner’s) stats and his position in the team and the fact that he got a little bit of extra time were probably ruined by the personal nature of it,” Paine said.

‘And put sandpaper in it again. And saying that David is a person who used his leadership role for power. I played with David and he certainly didn’t do that.

‘I thought the article was quite good. There were a lot of questions that people wanted to ask and it generated a lot of interest and a lot of thinking, even from someone like me.

‘I thought he just went a little too far in some things, which ruined it for me. I just thought the George thing was a bit redundant.”

Michael Clarke, who captained both players when they were in the national team together, said there had been no animosity between them when he was captain.

“Dave is a strong character, Mitch is a strong character, (they) went at each other hard in the nets,” Clarke said.

“I saw that, but I couldn’t sit here and say they were fighting with each other when we played.”

Clarke stressed the importance of former players with media jobs being able to express their views, but suggested Johnson should apologize if Warner was hurt by his comments.

“When you’re in a (media) role like this, if you have an opinion and it’s based on what’s best for the team, I think you should continue with that, but it should never be personal, otherwise I’ll try not to make it personal, and if it comes across that way, I think you’re trying to apologize because you don’t mean it that way.’