“Is Cricket Australia serious?” - Mitchell Johnson takes a dig at cricket board over awards invite

Former left-arm pacer Mitchell Johnson has slammed Cricket Australia (CA) for inviting him to an awards night just days after the board canceled two of his speaking engagements over his column on David Warner.

Ahead of the ongoing Australia-Pakistan Test series, Johnson wrote a scathing article on Warner in The West Australian, questioning why he was being given a "hero’s send-off". The former pacer referred to the opener’s involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal as well as his poor recent Test form in his write-up that led to plenty of reactions among current and former Australian cricketers.

Following the controversy, Cricket Australia canceled two of the former cricketer’s guest speaking assignments during the first Test in Perth last week. On Friday, December 22, the 42-year-old, who is commentating on radio with Triple M, took to his official Instagram handle and lashed out at CA over the cricket board sending him an awards invite.

While sharing a screenshot of the invite on social media, Johnson wrote:

"Is Cricket Australia serious?? Last week I was cancelled from 2 speaking engagements. This week I'm invited to celebrate with them.”

A screenshot of the awards invite shared by Mitchell Johnson.

The former cricketer shared his thoughts on his Instagram story with three laughing emojis.

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What Johnson wrote in his column on David Warner

In his column for The West Australian, Johnson questioned the logic behind the selectors picking Warner for the first Test against Pakistan in Perth.

“It’s been five years and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal. Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country. As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why?,” he wrote.

Later, speaking on his podcast, the former left-armer revealed that a text message from Warner triggered him to write the column.

"I tried to ring [Warner] to talk to him about it, which I've always been open about with the guys. 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," he said on his Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show podcast with broadcaster Bharat Sundaresan.

When asked about Johnson’s comments, Warner downplayed it and said that everyone is entitled to have an opinion. The veteran batter then silenced critics by scoring 164 in Australia’s 360-run win in the Perth Test.