Former Australia coach Justin Langer has called out Mitchell Johnson for his explosive column on David Warner.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
Johnson wrote a scathing column in The West Australian a few days back where he questioned the need for giving Warner a farewell Test series despite him not being in good form for over two years in Test cricket.
Johnson’s words drew widespread attention and divided opinions in the Australian cricket community. While some came in support of Warner, there were others who backed Johnson.
Former Australia opener and coach Langer has now voiced his opinion on the matter. Writing in the same publication as Johnson, Langer called out the left-arm seamer for breaking the ‘unwritten rule’ of Australian cricket of not airing grievances publicly.
“In simple terms, I hate it when men from the rare club of playing cricket for Australia air any of their grievances publicly,” Langer wrote. “I believe in a simple ethos of ‘praise in public, criticise in private’. In other words, if you want to say something publicly, be positive and use the opportunity to praise the person you are talking about. In contrast, if you want to criticise someone, look them in the eye and tell them how you are feeling.
“There was always an unwritten rule that, although all of us may not be best of friends, the mutual respect of playing for Australia was enough to stop us from criticising each other publicly. Let others criticise us, but we would tend to stick tight as a part of the Australian cricket culture.”
Langer recalled the public feud between the late Shane Warne and Steve Waugh and added that it never made sense to him: “It never made much sense to me when our great mate Shane Warne publicly criticised Steve Waugh or John Buchanan. All three of these were (are) my friends, and Warnie’s view, while he had every right to share it, never sat easy with me.”
He also said that all the negative comments he received during this career as a player and as a coach took a toll. “During my playing and coaching days, there were a couple of past players who never had a good word to say about me,” Langer wrote. “To be honest, that has hurt over the years. Coming from people I respected, I would have much rather they sat me down with a beer or a coffee and told me how I could get better or what they didn’t like about me.”
Langer added that Johnson and Warner should work towards solving the issue privately without getting personal in the public domain. “Anyone who knows me knows I am not one for shirking a single issue, but I do believe there are ways of getting your message across without getting personal,” Langer wrote.
“Mitch [Johnson] is one of the very best people I have met in the game. He is a gentle giant who was one of the great players and athletes I have seen. Like a lot of greats, he is also stubborn.
“While I don’t know the ins and outs of his gripe with Davey [Warner], I hope they can talk it out behind closed doors. He and Davey [Warner] would have shared many happy moments together as teammates and I hope they can remember these going forward. It is much more fun.”
The first Australia vs Pakistan Test starts tomorrow (December 14) in Perth.
