Mitchell Johnson takes aim at Cricket Australia again, posts comments on Instagram

Cricket Australia’s invitation to Mitchell Johnson for an awards night has been scoffed at by the former fast bowler. This comes only a week after the governing body cancelled two of Johnson’s speaking engagements after his rather controversial column that targeted David Warner and chief selector George Bailey. He was initially silent about being stood down from the paid talks during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth, but then, he took to social media to express his incredulity at the invite. He took to Instagram with the screenshot of the invitation and the Rage Against The Machine song ‘Take the Power Back,’ Johnson wrote, “Is Cricket Australia serious?? Last week I was cancelled from 2 speaking engagements. This week I’m invited to celebrate with them.” The former left-arm fast bowler had criticised Warner for his "hero send-off" and also spoke about Sandpapergate in an explosive article for the West Australian. Johnson also raised questions on Bailey’s position, suggesting a conflict of interest in deciding Warner’s future. After this column, Warner responded with a spectacular performance in the opening Test against Pakistan, scoring 164 and securing a memorable farewell from red-ball cricket at the SCG. In a conversation on Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show podcast with broadcaster Bharat Sundaresan, Johnson confessed that the column was partially motivated by personal messages from Warner and Bailey earlier in the year. Amidst all these comments and controversies, Warner has not presented his own views and said that Johnson was free to express his opinion. The left-hander responded with a superb innings of 164, and powered Australia into a commanding position after the first day in the first Test against Pakistan in Perth. He was brilliant on the opening day of his farewell Test series, guiding Australia to a total of 346-5. Warner’s exceptional performance also saw him rise to the fifth spot on Australia’s all-time Test run-scorers list, surpassing the likes of Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke.