David Warner: Chairman of selectors George Bailey responds to Mitchell Johnson after explosive column

Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey has responded to a bombshell column in The Sunday Times by Mitchell Johnson, after David Warner was named to play the first Test of the home summer. In an explosive piece, Johnson asked why Warner — set to retire after the third Test against Pakistan — warranted a “hero’s send-off”. The 14-man squad revealed on Sunday has the veteran opener set to start the summer alongside Usman Khawaja at the top of the order, confirming he will be given one final series dubbed a farewell tour. SIGN UP FOR FREE BBL TIPPING WITH THE GAME! SEASON’S TOP TIPPER WINS $15K Johnson said the spectre of Warner’s involvement in the sandpaper scandal that rocked Australian cricket has not passed and should be reflected in his treatment this summer. That’s despite passing 50 just twice in 16 attempts and a double-century against South Africa an anomaly during a lean period that has lasted two years. “Does this really warrant a swan song, a last hurrah against Pakistan that was forecast a year in advance as if he was bigger than the game and the Australian cricket team?” Johnson wrote. Bailey was pressed on the column in a press conference on Sunday. “I have been sent little snippets of it. I hope he’s OK,” he said. Asked if that comment suggested he thought Johnson was not OK, Bailey responded: “I’ve got no idea”. Bailey, who as a player won an Ashes series and a World Cup with both Johnson and Warner, said he respected the 37-year-old’s wish to play his final match in Sydney but said he had been picked for the first Test in Perth based purely off performance. “Clearly Dave would like to get through the series and finish up in Sydney and fully respect that and understand that from a playing point-of-view, he said. “I think we have been pretty consistent around the fact that with any player, performance-wise, it’s how they perform as an individual and then how that performance actually fits into the function of the team and that won’t change. “We get the advantage I guess of having a home Test series and getting to name the squad Test-by-Test and not specific to Dave, I think all players, it is about performing and how that fits into the team that will determine the make-up of a side in any given Test.” Johnson also questioned Bailey’s relationship with the players, suggesting the selector was too close with the current group. “I also wonder what the role of the head selector is these days,” he wrote. “It seems to have moved to be a part of the inner sanctum, rather than standing aside from it. There are now throw downs for the players, golfing together and celebrating wins to all hours.” Bailey argued being in the inner sanctum could only be beneficial. “To be honest, I don’t think now is probably the appropriate time to go into it,” he said. “My only question would be, or observation would be, if someone can show me how being distant and unaware of what players are going through and what the plans are with their team and with the coaching staff, how that’s more beneficial, I’ll be all ears.” Warner will almost certainly open in the first Test, which starts on December 14, with no reserve batter named in the squad.