David Warner breaks the silence on Johnson's criticism

Veteran opener David Warner on Friday ignored former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnsonrsquos scathing attack on him for setting his own retirement date saying that ldquoeveryonersquos entitled to their opinionsrdquo In a newspaper column Johnson had questioned whether Warner had been in strong enough form to set his own retirement date Johnson had also opened up old wounds by referencing Warnerrsquos role in the balltampering saga in South AfricaFirst Test v Pak on Dec 14Warner 37 had expressed his desire for a Sydney farewell after the third and final Test against Pakistan starting from January 3 2024 The threematch Test series starts in Perth on December 14Also ReadPhillips scores breezy 87 as NZ fight back v BangladeshWarner who has scored 8487 runs from 109 Tests since making his debut in 2011 refused to be drawn into the controversy saying his former teammate is entitled to his opinions however scathing ldquoIt wouldnrsquot be a summer without a headline would itrdquo he asked at the launch of Fox Cricketrsquos summer coverage in Parramatta on Friday according to cricketcomauMitch JohnsonldquoIt is what it is Everyonersquos entitled to their own opinionsrdquo the explosive opening batter said in his first comments after Johnsonrsquos scathing attack on him ldquoMoving forward wersquore looking forward to a nice Test over in the westrdquo Since the summer of 202021 Warner has managed one Test century from 25 matchesmdasha memorable doublehundred against South Africa in his 100th Test at the MCG in 2022 Australian selectors have stuck to Warner though they will have to determine his replacement beyond SydneyWarner said he learned long ago how to deal with such criticisms ldquoMy parents ingrained that into me They taught me every day to fight and work hard ldquoWhen you go onto the world stage and you donrsquot realise what comes with that itrsquos a lot of media a lot of criticism but a lot of positiverdquoTeam supporting WarnerAustralia captain Pat Cummins also said that the Test team would be ldquofiercely protectiverdquo of the veteran opener in the face of external attacks ldquoI think we protect each other a lot Wersquove been through a lot over the years our boys Someone like Davey or Steve Smith Irsquove played with them for a dozen years now so wersquore fiercely protective of each otherrdquo Cummins saidldquoWersquove had arguably our most successful year ever Wersquore going into a really exciting summer Therersquos so many positive things around Australian cricket I think we should be talking about and wersquore focusing on that Johnsonrsquos columnrdquoOpener Renshaw hits timely ton against PakMatt Renshaw hit an unbeaten 136 against Pakistan in a timely reminder to Australian selectors Friday of his credentials to take over from David Warner when the veteran quits Test cricketRenshaw 27 resumed Day Three for Prime Ministerrsquos XI on 18 and patiently compiled his century from 251 balls It helped steer the home side to 3674 at stumps in Canberra 24 runs behind Pakistan who declared at 3919 on the back of skipper Shan Masoodrsquos 201 not outThe fourday match at Manuka Oval has been billed as a ldquobatoffrdquo to replace the opener Warner with Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris also in contentionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever