Mitchell Johnson in awkward development with David Warner as Candice spills truth about Test return

Mitchell Johnson and David Warner are set to cross paths this summer in what could be a potentially awkward encounter. Last summer the former Australian quickly sparked a firestorm across the cricket community when he took an extraordinary swipe at David Warner and chief selector George Bailey over plans to farewell the veteran at the SCG.

The fast-bowling great questioned why Warner was still in the team given his below-par form in the Test arena. He then went on to declare Warner shouldn't be given a "hero's farewell" because he failed to take full accountability for his role in the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. Warner has since retired and it was revealed that in the Australian summer of cricket, he will transition into a commentary role with Fox.

Johnson is expected to continue in his commentary role for Triple M this summer, despite not being named among a suite of broadcasters by the network on Tuesday for this season's cricket coverage. And the former fast bowler is understood to be set to commentary for Triple M for the Perth Test, setting up a likely encounter with retired Aussie great Warner.

A run-in would almost certainly be a frosty one given the relationship between the Ashes and World Cup-winning teammates has been far from civil in recent years. Johnson previously revealed the feud was sparked by a text he received from Warner after he wrote a scathing column early in 2023 in which he described wife Candice's constant defence of her husband as "cringe".

He then took another swipe at Warner in a column in The Sunday Times ahead of the batsman's farewell Test against Pakistan where he claimed chief selector George Bailey was too close to the national side to pick the best team and that Warner shouldn't have been in it. Warner subsequently posted a ton against Pakistan in Perth and celebrated with a "shush" celebration up towards Johnson who was sitting in the media centre.

"You saw what it was. It was a nice little quiet shush," Warner said at the time. "It’s just anyone who wants to write stories about me and trying to use headlines, get headlines, that stuff doesn’t bother me. It’s just the fact that I have to go out there and do what I have to do. And I’m allowed to celebrate how I want."

Candice Warner shuts down talk of a David Warner comeback

Last week Warner sent the Aussie cricket community into a spin after claiming he was willing to come out of retirement to open the batting against India. The retired batsman said all selectors had to do was pick up the phone and call him and he's in.

His comments came as Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft, Josh Inglis and youngster Sam Konstas are all vying for the opening role vacated by Warner and then Steve Smith. But despite his comments his wife, Candice, said there was no chance of him making a comeback.

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Speaking on Fox Sports' The Back Page on Tuesday, Warner said while she believes her husband would still do a good job at the top of the order for Australia, he wouldn't be making a comeback. “He’s very passionate about playing for Australia and I think if George Bailey, the selector, or Andrew McDonald, the coach, picked up the phone and said ‘we need you’, he would jump at it," Warner said. "(But) It’s definitely not going to happen.

"I think if he genuinely didn’t think he was capable of doing it, he wouldn’t have said that but that’s not any disrespect to any of the openers or people (in the selection mix). If he was to have gone down that path to play again, he would have had to have done it just like everyone else. Play Sheffield Shield and everything like that. But it’s not happening. End of discussion."