Australia opener David Warner did the finger-on-lips celebration toward the commentary box to “shussh” former teammate Mitchell Johnson after scoring his 26th Test century on Thursday on Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan in Perth.
This is his first Test century since last December. Heading into this series, David Warner had had a disappointing run in Test cricket. Before today, in 9 Tests in 2023, he averaged only 22 with merely two half-centuries in 16 innings.
These numbers led to a scathing criticism from Mitchell Johnson in his column for the for The West Australian a couple of weeks ago. There was a lot of chatter and comments from everyone around the Australian cricket fraternity, from ex-cricketers to the selector to Pat Cummins and commentators to Warner and his current teammates with arguments made for and against both sides.
David Warner, though, gave the perfect reply as a sportsperson could do: perform on the field. He cracked a sizzling century against a toothless Pakistani bowling attack on Day 1 in Perth. The left-hander brought up his century in only 125 balls. And going by how he’s batted so far, he looks primed for a double century,
After reaching his three-figure landmark, David Warner did his trademark celebration of jumping high in the air, releasing all the build-up energy he had. At the end of his celebration, Warner looked toward the commentary box and did the finger-on-lips gesture, teasing Mitchell Johnson, who was doing radio work from the stadium.
Watch: David Warner taunts Mitchell Johnson with finger-on-lips gesture
‘Good afternoon, Mitchell Johnson!’pic.twitter.com/woIk5n1J1A
— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) December 14, 2023
Heading into Tea, Warner had a brief chat with the broadcaster about his century and his celebration.
David Warner said: “It’s my job to come here and score runs. It was good to get a couple of partnerships, first with Uzzie (Khawaja) and then with Smudge (Smith). (On his century) It does feel great, it’s about putting runs on the board for the bowlers. No better way to silence the critics than by putting runs on the board.”
