In this most recent column, Johnson restated his previous article’s main points.
A shocking development has occurred: Cricket Australia has banned former Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson from speaking at two public events.
The two guest speaking appearances Johnson was supposed to make during Pakistan’s Test match against Australia in Perth stadium have reportedly been blocked by Cricket Australia, according to News Corp. It follows on the heels of Johnson’s controversial column in which he questioned David Warner’s selection for the Test team and the reason behind his “hero’s sent-off,” even though Warner was involved in the 2018 ball-tampering incident known as “the sandpaper gate.”
A CA representative told News Corp on December 19 that while Mitchell is one of Australia’s most well-known bowlers, “we felt on this occasion it was in everyone’s best interests that he was not the guest speaker at the CA functions.”
Michael Hussey, a former batsman for Australia, was apparently brought in to replace Johnson.
Johnson provided game commentary on Triple M radio, but at first there were rumors that he was replaced because his name wasn’t on the list of analysts that the radio station had originally released. He did, nevertheless, spend his time providing commentary for them.
Following the uproar over his column, Johnson discussed his regrets in his podcast The Mitchell Johnson Show.
“There was one thing I wasn’t happy with,” Johnson admitted. “At the time, I didn’t notice it. I was reading the article and just kind of followed it. The “Bunnings” and “sandpaper” parts. Probably unpleasant. That wasn’t something that needed to be said. The reason I brought up the sandpaper scandal is that I don’t look at statistics. I consider the big picture. And I’m not trying to bring up the past. But someone getting a farewell and being in that position and doing what they did back then, That didn’t sit well with me, which is why I brought it up.”
Johnson reiterated in his most recent column that he largely agreed with what he wrote in his previous article.
“He did what he was paid to do in the first innings before Saturday’s duck in the second innings.””I believe my viewpoint expressed in this column a few weeks ago is still valid,” Johnson wrote. “With the exception of a double century last summer, he hadn’t scored runs in about three years… Another point raised was that a soft summer like this, with Australia expected to easily defeat Pakistan and the West Indies, was the ideal time to consider bringing in some new players to an ageing squad.
“They could have given some new guys a really good time this summer and backed them in.” That will be much more difficult over the next two summers, when India and England visit for five-Test series.”
