The Mitchell Johnson vs David Warner controversy does not seem to go well for former Australian captain Mark Taylor. He finally broke his silence on the matter as the Test series against Pakistan approaches.

Mitchell Johnson had criticized Cricket Australia’s decision to give David Warner a farewell Test at his home in Sydney. Warner had already made a public announcement of his retirement from Test cricket after playing the third and final Test against Pakistan at the SCG from January 3-7, 2024.

Johnson had previously written an article about Warner’s poor numbers in Test cricket in the recent past. Warner’s wife Candice made a public defense of her husband’s probationary position on the Fox Sports television show, The Back Page.

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Now Mark Taylor, the former Australian captain, has said he should not have made personal comments about David Warner and his family. Speaking to 2GB’s Wide World of Sports programme, Taylor assessed the incident as a Nine Network commentator.

“I think as commentators, and Mitchell Johnson is now a commentator like me, you have to look at things, analyze them and comment, but you have to try to take the personalities out of it. I have no problem with anyone talking about numbers, facts. [and] data, but when it gets personal, that’s what you don’t want, and I think Mitch has already admitted that he made a mistake in that regard,” Mark Taylor said.

“But, in my opinion as a commentator, there is nothing wrong with someone like Mitchell Johnson making a comment about whether he thinks George Bailey should have done this or that. That’s fine, but make sure it’s based on facts and data and not personal feelings. That’s probably the only problem with all of this,” he further added.

David Warner to open with Usman Khawaja against Pakistan: Mark Taylor

The former Australian captain further said that David Warner will open with Usman Khwaja against Pakistan as the search for his successor remains at the last minute.

“Over the next three Test matches that will be the case. I’m sure the selectors would have thought: ‘Do we make a change now?’ and that would have been what they would have ruled out based on the fact that David hasn’t been in great form in red ball cricket, obviously white ball cricket. He has been fantastic. The last three years have not been very profitable for him but he has been a great player for a long time,” Taylor concluded.

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