The text messages that fuelled Mitchell Johnson’s explosive Warner column

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Mitchell Johnson has revealed a pair of text exchanges with David Warner and George Bailey fuelled his fiery column questioning the pair, though he now admits to some regret about the personal tone of the piece.

Warner messaged Johnson after a public exchange earlier this year between the former fast bowler and Candice Warner around the opening batter’s place in the Ashes team.

Mitchell Johnson and David Warner in happier times.Credit: Reuters

Bailey, more recently, contacted Johnson from India to express displeasure at an earlier opinion piece stating that Cricket Australia should stop asking the young fast bowler Lance Morris to rest from games.

In his regular podcast, The Mitchell Johnson Show, with journalist Bharat Sundaresan, Johnson also took issue with Bailey publicly questioning if he was “OK”. Bailey made that comment on Sunday when he was announcing the Australian Test squad and was asked about Johnson’s column for The West Australian.

“No, I’m not angry. I’m OK. Just want to make sure that everyone knows that I’m OK, and I’m in a good headspace,” Johnson told Sundaresan.

“That’s another point which was really disappointing. To ask if I’m OK [by George Bailey] because I’ve had mental health issues is pretty much downplaying my article and putting it on mental health, which is quite disgusting, I think. I’m fine. I’m not angry. I’m not jealous.

“It’s basically having a dig at someone’s mental health and saying that I must have something going on, a mental health issue, has made me say what I’ve said. That’s not the truth. That’s completely the opposite. I’m actually clear-minded.

“It’s based on my interactions that I’ve had with him in recent times. It sort of tries to downplay the questions that I’ve asked in that article. And to say that I’m not allowed to have an opinion, that’s what it feels like. It seems very childish from George and condescending.

“I’m just writing a piece that, for me, I felt like I needed to write. There was that personal aspect to it. But mostly I’ve tried to write things that is backed up by performances and question why players are picked when you hear about players should be picked on form, and he’s not being picked.”

A Cricket Australia spokesperson said categorically that Bailey’s comments about Johnson were not any reference to his mental health.

Australia’s Mitchell Johnson, left, Michael Clarke, second from left, and David Warner, third from left, celebrate the wicket of England’s Stuart Broad in 2013.Credit: AP

Johnson explained the back and forth with Warner earlier in 2023 and Bailey during the World Cup in India.

“It was around the time that Candice had said on the [TV program The] Back Page about there not being openers good enough to take his position. That’s when I responded to that,” Johnson said. “And I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal, and I tried to ring him to talk to him about it, which I’ve always been open about with the guys.

“When I finished playing, I said when I’m in the media, if I’m saying things or writing things that you guys don’t like, just come and speak to me. It was never a personal thing then. Until that point. That is what prompted me to write the article or part of it as well. It’s definitely a factor. Some of the things that he mentioned in that message. I won’t say it because that’s up to Dave to say if he wants to talk about it. There was some stuff in there, which was extremely disappointing what he said, and pretty bad, to be honest. That sort of was a bit of a driver.

“And a bit with George as well. He’d sent me a message after the Lance Morris article. It was just a bit condescending. Typical George sort of stuff. When you receive it at odd hours in the morning, it was disappointing.”

That being said, Johnson explained that he was still relatively new to writing opinion pieces, and would reconsider his tone in future.

“I think, in general, the tone of my articles have been fair apart from this one,” Johnson said. “The rest have been fine. Even the one that I had written about what Candice had said on The Back Page, I still wrote a lot of good things about David and his career. I was only bringing up the point of his performances and also players who should have an opportunity. I feel like that’s fair.

“It does make me think with this one that it probably wasn’t the right tone. But those are the things that you learn. You’re allowed to make, I guess, like Davey made that mistake, I guess, well, but this is not a mistake. No, I don’t think it’s a mistake. It’s just me thinking about the tone in which I’ve gone with here.

“I’ve never made any of my other articles personal. I definitely feel the difference with this one. It comes from a place where I think I had to go that way.”

Johnson also reflected on how he had to differentiate between friends he played cricket with and acquaintances from his time in the national team. Johnson will see his former teammates in Perth when he commentates on the first Test for Triple M.

“It’s just about finding out that you’ve got your mates, and then you had acquaintances with whom you played a sport,” he said. “You always had each other’s backs on the training paddock, but then it’s just about differentiating those relationships.

“It is sad when it gets to this, though. I’m not a person who likes that confrontation. Even if it looked like that on TV. That’s not me. It really is hard to go down this path. It is what it is. It’s done. I’ve taken ownership of it. It is difficult to write pieces. It’s out there and it’s public. You’re putting yourself out there in the open to cop the criticism.”

Both Bailey and Warner declined to comment.

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