David Warner is a good human being: Candice Warner defends husband after Mitchell Johnson's attack

Ahead of Australia's Test series against Pakistan, Australian opener David Warner found himself in the middle of a controversy. After Mitchell Johnson's strongly-worded criticism of Warner, questioning his place in the test side, Warner's wife, Candice Warner, has defender her husband.

Candice revealed that she and Warner are doing well, playing down the noise around Mitchell Johnson's criticism.

Speaking at a promotional event, Candice kept her response brief.

"We're doing well," Candice said.

"David's home. He's been away for three months, so to have him home now and be together as a family in the lead-up to Christmas is always special," said Candice.

Candice was grateful for the support that Warner received after Johnson's criticism created a stir in the Australian cricket community.

"Its really lovely for David to have that support, but he's a good human being and at the end of the day that's all that matters," said Candice.

Australia batters Usman Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell backed Warner's Test selection after criticism by Johnson.

Johnson minced no words as he publicly questioned the merits of Warner receiving a hero's send-off, particularly at the Sydney Cricket Ground, which is Warner's home ground. Johnson's criticism came from lingering discontent over Warner's involvement in the infamous ball-tampering scandal, often referred to as 'Sandpapergate', which rocked Australian cricket in 2018.

Despite serving a 12-month ban for his role in the incident, Warner never took full ownership of his actions, according to Johnson.

While speaking on his podcast, Johnson also slammed selector Bailey for criticising his column. He also claimed that he had received a text from Warner following another article that Johnson wrote questioning Warner's form and Candice's public defence of her husband's Test place earlier in the year.

"I got a message from Dave, which was quite personal. I tried to ring to try and talk to him about it, which I've always been open to. I know I've been open to the guys when I finished playing. I said if I'm in the media and writing things or saying things that you don't like, just come and speak to me," said Johnson.

Mitchell Johnson chose not to retract his scathing attack and rather revealed that 'a personal text' from Warner influenced his tone in the column.

"It was never a personal thing then until this point. This is probably what drove me to write the article as well, part of it. It was definitely a factor. Some of the stuff that was said in that, I won't say it. I think that's up to Dave to say it if he wants to talk about it. There was some stuff in there that was extremely disappointing, what he said, and pretty bad to be honest," Johnson said.

Johnson expressed furor over Bailey's response to his article, calling it disgusting, which he interpreted in reference to his mental health.
"To ask if I'm okay because I've had mental health issues is pretty much downplaying my article and putting it on mental health, which is quite disgusting, I think," he added.