'Is Cricket Australia serious?': Mitchell Johnson fires fresh salvo at CA after David Warner feud; here's why

Australia's star pacer Mitchell Johnson took a fresh dig – this time at Cricket Australia.

Mitchell Johnson, star former Australia pacer, took a swipe at Cricket Australia (CA) after being invited to the 2024 Australian Cricket Awards just weeks following the cancellation of his speaking engagements by the governing body. Johnson had recently penned a critical article about veteran opener David Warner in The West Australian, questioning Warner's authority to choose his retirement date amidst poor Test form and accusing him of avoiding accountability in the ball-tampering scandal.

Mitchell Johnson (Getty Images)

As reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, CA canceled two of Johnson's guest speaking engagements during the first Test in Perth in response to his article. Expressing his frustration, Johnson used Instagram to criticize CA for the seemingly contradictory move of inviting him to their awards event.

"Is Cricket Australia serious??" Johnson wrote on Instagram, including a screenshot of his invite.

“Last week I was cancelled from 2 speaking engagements. This week I'm invited to celebrate with them,” Johnson signed it off with three laughing emojis.

Following widespread criticism, David Warner silenced all skeptics regarding his Test cricket form on the first day of the opening Test against Pakistan. He made a resounding statement, scoring an explosive 164 off 211 balls in a dazzling commencement to his ‘farewell’ series.

Subsequently, Mitchell Johnson disclosed that he received a "pretty bad" text message from his former teammate David Warner earlier this year. This message might have served as the catalyst for Johnson's critical column about Australia's Test opener. Johnson also expressed his disapproval of selectors chairman George Bailey's response, deeming it "quite distasteful."

"I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it, which I've always been open to. I know I've been open to the guys when I finished playing. I said if I'm in the media and writing things or saying things that you don't like, just come and speak to me," Johnson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Warner said that Johnson is entitled to his opinion and refused to add fuel to the fire.

"Mitch is entitled to his opinion. He's a former player. You saw Justin Langer's comments. He said he's entitled to it. You can go back to Justin Langer's comments and refer to them and so be it," Warner said.