Michael Clarke and Tim Paine lash out at Mitchell Johnson for attacking David Warner, reveal battles in nets

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Michael Clarke and Tim Paine have lashed out at Mitchell Johnson for taking pot shots ahead of David Warner ahead of his upcoming last Test series against Pakistan which starts from December 14 in Perth.

In a newspaper column on Sunday, former Australia pacer Mitchell Johnson questioned Cricket Australia (CA) and selectors for giving Johnson the privilege to choose his retirement Test series. He called him a struggling Test opener and also brought up his role in the 2017 ball-tampering scandal which rocked Australian cricket.

Michael Clarke, who captained Johnson and Warner, called out Johnson for getting too personal with his scathing attack on the 37-year-old. He hinted that Warner and Johnson were not best friends even when they played together, adding that they used to go hard at each other in the nets.

“In every sporting team, not everybody gets on. Not everyone is best friends. Dave is a strong character, Mitch is a strong character, (they) went hard at each other in the nets. I saw that but I couldn’t sit here and say they had beef against one another when we played," Clarke told his Big Sports Breakfast show.

Clarke also suggested Johnson to apologise to Warner, and come up with constructed opinions which helps in the betterment of Australian cricket.

“Yeah (that’s why I wonder if) maybe I’ve missed something here … Mitch hasn’t played for years now so maybe there is beef, I don’t know. When you’re in a role like this … if you have an opinion and it’s based on what’s best for the team, or your experience, then go with that.

“But it should never be personal. I try not to make it personal and if it comes across that way you try and apologise for that because you don’t want that," he added.

In his column, Mitchell Johnson also targeted chief selector George Bailey and accused him of making decisions based on his personal equations with players. He said Bailey cornered himself after former Test captain Tim Paine's sexting scandal was made public in 2021. He also hinted that Warner's continued inclusion in the Test team despite poor form also had something to do with Bailey's favouritism.

“I thought the article was pretty good. There were a lot of questions that people wanted to ask and it created a lot of interest and a lot of thought, even from someone like me,” Paine told SEN.

“I thought he just went a bit too far on some things that it ruined it for me. The George (Bailey) stuff, I just found it a bit unnecessary. The George stuff I didn’t love. I thought that was a bit unnecessary," he said.