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Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley has backed the national men's team to do all the talking on the field in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan. Hockley commented keeping in mind the recent stand-off between David Warner and Mitchell Johnson.
With Warner likely to retire from Test cricket after the upcoming three-match series against Pakistan, former fast bowler Johnson dished out some brutal comments against him and questioned the need for a farewell Test series.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Hockley said that the current Australian team has achieved a lot over the past year and a half and trusts them to continue that moving forward. As quoted by Fox Sports, he claimed:
"A fair amount has been said, and everyone’s entitled to their own opinions. I think what you’ve seen over this year and the last two years is the current men’s team in all formats playing in great spirit. The success of the World Cup is being hailed as arguably the greatest World Cup victory out of the six to beat India in India. I know that this team really wants to do its talking on the pitch."
Responding to Johnson's contentious column in The West Australian, Warner gave a calm response. The left-hander believes people are entitled to their opinions and has chosen to keep his entire focus on the Test series.
"We would love for as many of the Pakistan fans" - Nick Hockley
Cricket Australia's boss expects a highly competitive series between the two sides and a massive fan following at the venues for the tourists. He added:
"We saw how competitive these two teams are when we toured Pakistan last March. We’ve seen the passion of Pakistan fans not just on that tour but when they made it to the final here in the T20 World Cup last year, they had incredible support. We would love for as many of the Pakistan fans that are living here in Australia to come out in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney."
The first Test between Australia and Pakistan begins on December 14 in Perth.
