Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson has provided insight into the motivation behind his recent attack on current Australia opener David Warner. Johnson, who had criticized Warner and reignited the ball-tampering controversy, explained that one of the reasons behind his tirade was a text message he received from Warner earlier in the year. The 42-year-old revealed that Warner had sent him a "quite personal" text message after he wrote a column on Warner's wife, Candice, defending her husband's place in the team.

While Johnson did not disclose the details of the text message, he acknowledged that it played a role in his decision to express his views in his column for The West Australian. In his column, Johnson not only questioned Warner's place in the team but also expressed his belief that the opener did not deserve a "hero's sendoff" in the upcoming series against Pakistan, which is speculated to be Warner's last.

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In addition to his criticism of Warner, Johnson also targeted Australia's chief selector George Bailey, questioning the decision to persist with Warner despite his recent struggles with form.

"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," the former Australia pacer said on The Mitchell Johnson Cricket Show.

"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," he added.

Johnson also took on Bailey for his response to his article on Warner, which he deemed as a reference at 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. It's basically having a dig at someone's mental health and saying that I must have something going on, a mental health issue has made me say what I have said. That's not the truth. That's completely the opposite. I'm actually clear-minded," he quipped.

Reacting to Johnson's column on Warner, Bailey had said: "I've been sent little snippets of it - I hope he's OK".