Mitchell Johnson, who heavily criticized David Warner in a column, was not surprised by David Warner’s first innings heroics against Pakistan. However, he maintained his opinion that Australia would have been better if they had replaced the veteran series opener. His remarks sparked an explosive debate two weeks ago when he claimed that David Warner did not deserve a send-off series due to his involvement in the 2018 Sandpapergate scandal and his poor form.

David Warner responded with his bat by scoring a spectacular 164 against Pakistan in the first innings of the first Test in Perth. Hitting his 26th Test ton, David Warner gestured for silence towards the Optus Stadium media centre. The under-fire opener said his celebration was for anyone “who wants to write stories about me and try to make headlines.”

Mitchell Johnson said the way David Warner reacted to his criticism reminded him of former England star Kevin Pietersen. “Warner may have denied that he cares about the criticism of his form, but it motivates him, as evidenced by his performance in the first innings.”

That kind of atmosphere is something Warner likes and he’s a bit like Kevin Pietersen in that sense. Pietersen loved it when someone attacked him on or off the field, he enjoyed the challenge and got up and I think it’s the same with Dave.”

Mitchell Johnson still feels Australia should have replaced David Warner

David Warner came out to duck in the second inning. However, his memorable first innings century will see him through to his chosen farewell Test at the SCG. The former Australian pacer stood by his criticism from two weeks ago, again highlighting Warner’s string of poor test scores over the past three years.

Mitchell Johnson also feels Australia missed a golden opportunity to inject new players into an aging team during an easy summer, rather than wait for the next home series against tough opponents like England and India.

“They could have given some new guys some really good time in the middle of this summer and backed them up. That will be a lot harder over the next two summers when India and England visit for a five-Test series,” Johnson said.

Australia won the first Test by defeating Pakistan for a meager 89 in the last innings. They won the match by 360 runs while Pakistan were mediocre while chasing 450. Australia declared the innings on day 4 with 233/5 on the scoreboard and Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc did the demolition job for Australia sharing three wickets each, Nathan Lyon took two. wickets while captain Pat Cummins took a scalp.

The two teams will travel to Melbourne for the traditional Boxing Day Test starting on December 26 and then play the final Test of the series in Sydney, where David Warner will bid farewell to the red-ball format. David Warner has had an excellent career with Australia in Tests. With his recent ton, Warner has become Australia’s fifth-highest scoring player in Test cricket, surpassing Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden.