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Former Australia head coach Justin Langer has condemned Mitchell Johnson's public criticism of David Warner, stating that he broke an unwritten rule. The 105-Test veteran stated that criticism is entirely justified as long as it remains private.
Johnson's column for The West Australian targeting Warner triggered mixed reactions from the general public and former Aussie cricketers. The Queenslander blamed the opener for not taking proper responsibility for his involvement in the 'sandpaper' scandal and questioned the need to give a 'struggling' Test cricketer a grand send-off. The 42-year-old later added that things became personal when Warner sent a very 'disappointing' text message.
Langer, in response, stated that he 'hates' it when one Aussie player criticises the other publicly.
"In simple terms, I hate it when men from the rare club of playing cricket for Australia or any of their grievances publicly. 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."
Despite Johnson's intense criticism, Warner responded in a composed manner, saying that people are entitled to their opinions. However, the comments from his ex-teammate might motivate the New South Welshman to give his best against Pakistan.
Justin Langer recalls Shane Warne criticising Steve Waugh and John Buchanan
Citing Shane Warne's example, Langer suggested that outsiders can criticize Aussie players as much as they want, but former and current players must stick together. The 53-year-old added:
"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 of 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. It never made much sense to me when our great mate Shane Warne publicly criticised Steve Waugh or John Buchanan."
Australia and Pakistan will play the first of the three Tests at the Optus Stadium in Perth, starting on December 14th.
