“It would not be a summer of cricket without a headline" - David Warner on his ongoing verbal spat with Mitchell Johnson

Veteran opening batter David Warner broke his silence surrounding his ongoing feud with former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson. The latter kickstarted a string of events through his column where he lambasted the idea of Warner getting a Test farewell in the form of the upcoming home series against Pakistan.

Johnson brought up Warner's involvement in the ball-tampering scandal as well as his current form as prime reasons why he should not be glorified and given a farewell. The former player also went on to reveal that he received a text message from his former teammate and criticized chief selector George Bailey for bringing his mental health into the equation.

In the build-up to Warner's final red-ball series, the veteran opener finally spoke about his issues with Johnson.

“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,” he told reporters.

“I resonate with where I grew up. For me, it was a great upbringing with my parents, but it taught me everyday … to work hard. My parents ingrained that into me. When you get on to the world stage, you don’t realise what goes with that.there is a lot of media. A lot of criticism. But there are also a lot of positives. And I think what is more important is what you see today, people coming out here to support cricket, Australian cricket and cricket in general. It is fantastic,” Warner added.

The verbal back-and-forth between Warner and Johnson through media statements has also attracted the attention of former Australian captains, with Ricky Ponting even offering himself to be the mediator to end the feud once and for all.

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"I think we protect each other a lot" - Pat Cummins defends David Warner

Australia skipper Pat Cummins is also no stranger to criticism, particularly after assuming the role of captaincy. He has had to prove himself and he seemingly has done just that by guiding the team to two ICC titles in the space of six months.

Cummins was termed as 'gutless' by Mitchell Johnson in his column last year. The skipper understood the right to voice one's opinion but also came out in strong defense of his long-time teammate David Warner.

“I think we protect each other a lot. We have been through a lot over the years,” he said. Our boys, I’ve played alongside someone like Davey or Steve (Smith) for a dozen years now. (We are) fiercely protective of each other," Cummins said.

“It is hard to say (what Mitch’s motivation is). You have to ask Mitch. But there are so many things we should be celebrating about Australian cricket at the moment. There are so many exciting things about Australian cricket at the moment and I think we should be focusing and talking about that,” he added.

Australia's home summer will kickstart with the first Test against Pakistan from December 14 onwards in Perth.