Australia's chairman of selectors George Bailey has responded to a stinging criticism from Mitchell Johnson, who questioned his handling of David Warner's selection.
In his column for The West Australian, Johnson didn't believe the opener deserved a swansong after he was selected for the first Test of the summer at Perth.
Warner has previously flagged an intention to finish his career at the SCG in the third Test against Pakistan.
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"I can definitely say I won't be playing that West Indies series (after Pakistan)," he said.
Johnson accused Warner of never 'owning' the sandpaper saga that resulted in him being banned for a year while stating his form at Test level hasn't warranted selection.
"Australia coach Andrew McDonald said recently they will be picking this summer's Test squad based on current performances," he wrote.
"It would be nice to know how long this strategy has been in place because it doesn't seem to have applied to Warner for quite a while."
Johnson also whacked his former teammate Bailey, suggesting he is too close to Warner to be making the decision around his selection.
"When then-captain Tim Paine's career was ending over the sexting controversy, chairman of selectors George Bailey said he didn't want to be part of deciding Paine's fate because the pair were close friends," he wrote.
"Bailey said he would leave it to then coach Justin Langer and fellow selector Tony Dodemaide to work it out.
"The handling of Warner in recent years, who played with Bailey in all three forms, raises the question of whether Bailey was simply too quickly out of playing and into the job and too close to some of the players."
Johnson added: "(the role of head selector) seems to have moved to be a part of the inner sanctum, rather than standing aside from it".
In a press conference after the first Test side was announced, Bailey said he'd seen snippets but wasn't willing to get into a war of words.
"I hope he's OK," he said.
The former Test cricketer was then asked if he was suggesting Johnson was not OK, to which he bluntly responded: "I've got no idea."
Despite giving Johnson's comments little time, Bailey did express his belief that being close to the team wasn't a bad way to approach his role.
"To be honest I don't think now's the appropriate time to go through it … my only 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 the team and with the coaching staff – how that's more beneficial – I'd be all ears," he said.
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