‘Absolute chaos’: David Warner truth laid bare amid Mitchell Johnson feud

One of David Warner’s former captains has revealed just how the under-fire opener would be taking Mitchell Johnson’s brutal criticism.

The wait for the Australian international cricket summer is almost over ahead of Thursday’s first Test against Pakistan, but the entire lead up has been dominated by the feud between David Warner and Mitchell Johnson.

Before the Ashes series back in June, the 37-year-old Warner revealed he would like to finish up his Test career at home at his beloved SCG.

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But after another brutal Ashes series in England where he scored 285 runs at 28.50, there have been plenty of questions asked about whether Australia should use the summer to blood his replacement.

However, the issue has come to ahead on the back of Mitchell Johnson’s scathing column in the West Australian, questioning if Warner deserved a farewell series due to his role in the Cape Town ball tampering scandal in 2018.

“It’s been five years and Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal,” Johnson wrote.

“Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country.”

Johnson also doubled down on criticism of Warner’s performances and whether he deserves his place in the side.

It comes after Johnson called for Warner to be dropped before the Ashes series, where he also sparked a feud with Candice Warner, describing her defence of her husband’s place in the side as “weird and cringey”.

It was reportedly the instigating factor in the feud, after Johnson claimed Warner had sent him a message that “was quite personal” that he called “extremely disappointing” and “pretty bad”.

It’s up to Warner scoring runs as to whether he completes his retirement tour. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images

Speaking on new ESPN cricket show Around the Wicket, former Australian captains Michael Clarke, Aaron Finch and Lisa Sthalekar dug into the issue.

Clarke said he wanted to be positive about the situation but said it was clear there was an issue between the pair.

“There’s obviously something going on between Mitch and Davey and I’ve said a few times already, I didn’t notice that when I was playing with them,” Clarke began. “But not everyone is best mates in every team you play in.

“They were competitive in the nets but I never noticed friction like we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks so something’s obviously happened post my playing days.”

Clarke said that the other side of it is that when players go from playing to the media after their careers: “Your job is not to always just give positive feedback, you’ve got to be honest if somebody’s not performing.”

But Clarke said that Warner had handled himself well throughout the drama and concentrated in finishing his Test career with some runs.

However, while Warner was Australia’s leading run scorer for the ODI World Cup in India recently, his Test batting has left plenty to be desired, averaging under 40 in each of the past three years.

Overall, he’s averaged just 28.91 with 1243 runs and just one hundred — his Boxing Day double ton in 2022 — in Test match cricket.

Former white-ball skipper Finch was asked how he felt Warner would be received by fans, particularly with Johnson’s criticism centring around the Aussie opener’s role in the ball tampering scandal.

“One thing that Davey’s never bothered with is what other people think,” Finch said. “That’s one of the great strengths of him as well.

“He’s got the ability to function with absolute chaos around him and that’s why he doesn’t mind putting random things out there, because it doesn’t affect him like it does other people.

“If the house was burning down around him, he’s someone who is able to stay really calm under pressure and when it’s absolute chaos going on around him.

“Sometimes he brings it on himself and that’s what gets him going. If you look at his career, there’s time like World Cup finals, semi-finals, he gets the job done. Big games throughout his career, he gets the job done. That just shows the character of him.”

Aaron Finch has revealed Warner's reaction. Photo: Fox Sports

Australian women’s cricket legend Sthalekar added that Warner should be in the Australian XI after all the success the side has had in recent times, including winning the World Test Championship, ODI World Cup and retaining the Ashes.

“One thing we know as players, when you’ve got a great core group and you know how to win as a team, you try to keep that,” she said.

She also conceded that there is a stage that you need to blood new players.

Clarke added that you needed to have someone putting their hand up.

“I know it’s about making runs and you can look at numbers but you’ve got have someone to replace him, you’ve got to look at the opposition he’s been playing against — England in England is always a tough place to open as well,” Clarke said.

“The selectors and Pat Cummins have been loyal to Davey Warner in selecting him in this Test match, there’s no doubt about it. If it was just about stats, he probably wouldn’t be picked.

“But it’s never just about stats in my opinion.”

Warner will be hoping for a big summer. Photo by Daniel Pockett – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images

However, the comments continue to raise the question of who is next?

There’s been options floated of any of the current top six, including Cameron Green, Mitchell Marsh or Marnus Labuschagne, while Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris and Matt Renshaw are the three domestic openers believed to be chasing the spot.

Bancroft is the standout pick with a Shield average above 50 over the past three seasons, while Harris, who has toured extensively with the Test team, averaging 36.51 and Renshaw 34.45.

But ultimately, none are really making an irresistible case to take Warner’s position.

Clarke said he would take a specialist opening batter, pointing to either Bancroft or Renshaw.

Sthalekar said she felt Renshaw had his nose in front, questioning some “deficiencies” in Bancroft’s game.

Finch said playing at the WACA “hide the technical deficiencies, but you can’t argue with averaging 50.

“People keep talking about David Warner’s numbers not being that good — if he went and played Shield cricket, he’d be averaging 50 as well,” Finch continued.

“There’s been a lot of talk about that, he just hasn’t had the opportunity to play a lower standard, which is Shield cricket compared to Test cricket.”