Everyone's entitled to their own opinions: Warner responds to Johnson

David Warner has sidestepped Mitchell Johnson's criticism of him, saying, "Everyone's entitled to their own opinions." Johnson recently launched a scathing attack, questioning Warner's right to decide his retirement date given that he has averaged just over 26 in the last two years of Test cricket.

Moreover, he dug up old wounds, i.e., the sandpapergate, questioning why the southpaw deserved a hero's send-off after being involved in one of Australian cricket's biggest scandals.

"It wouldn't be a summer without a headline, would it?" Warner said at the launch of Fox Cricket's summer coverage in Parramatta on Friday (December 8). 

"It is what it is. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions. Moving forward, we're looking forward to a nice Test over in the west."

Warner has managed just one Test century in his last 25 matches, which came on his 100th Test at the MCG in 2022. He also has a couple of innings where he has been dismissed in the 90s.

Skipper Pat Cummins has also come out in support of Warner, adding that the entire group is quite protective of Warner and also Steven Smith, who was the captain when the scandal broke out in South Africa. "I think we protect each other a lot," Cummins said. 

"We've been through a lot over the years, our boys. Someone like Davey or Steve, I've played with them for a dozen years now so we're fiercely protective of each other.

"Sometimes you've got to remind yourself of the amount of positive support that is out there."

Warner is determined to finish off his Test career on a high and not get bogged down by such criticism. "My parents ingrained that into me," he said. "They taught me every day to fight and work hard. When you go onto the world stage and you don't realise what comes with that, it's a lot of media, a lot of criticism but a lot of positive.

"I think what's more important is what you see here today, the people coming out to support cricket."

Australia kickstart their Test summer with the three-match series against Pakistan, starting Thursday (December 14) in Perth.