David Warner vs Mitchell Johnson: Ricky Ponting says he 'needs to be the mediator'

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is ready to play the role of a mediator between David Warner and Mitchell Johnson to help his two former teammates resolve their issues. Johnson and Warner are in the news currently after the former pacer launched a stinging attack on the opener for wanting to have a farewell Test. Warner has been selected in Australia’s squad for the Pakistan Test series which means he could retire at his home ground in Sydney. While slamming Warner in a newspaper, Johson said that Warner is still to take responsibility for the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. “As we prepare for David Warner’s farewell series, can somebody please tell me why? Why does a struggling Test opener get to nominate his own retirement date? And why a player at the centre of one of the biggest scandals in Australian cricket history warrants a hero’s send-off?” Johnson wrote for The West Australian. Ponting has offered to help the two cricketers bury the hatchet and move on. “I have to get in between these two guys at some stage … I think I need to be the mediator and get them both in a room and let them have it out rather than playing it out in the media. They’re both pretty feisty characters and we know this issue that’s come up now goes back six or eight months, back to the Ashes selection. That’s where it all started. It sounds like an issue that’s gone on without either of them sitting down and having a face-to-face conversation. I’d like to see that happen,” Ponting told Sunrise. Warner has also reacted to Johnson's comments. The opener laughed off his criticism. “It would not be a summer of cricket without a headline. It is what it is. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. But moving forward, we are looking to a nice Test over in the west,” Warner told Fox Sports.