Former Australian cricket team skipper Ricky Ponting is ready to step in as 'mediator' to solve the ongoing spat between former teammates David Warner and Mitchell Johnson. The controversy erupted after Johnson wrote in his column that Warner's selection for the Test series against Pakistan was due to the fact that he announced his intention to retire after the series and not because of his form. Since then, both cricketers have taken aim at each other with other colleagues also joining in on the conversation.
Ponting said that he believes that it is time for him to step into the situation and rather than playing it out in front on the media, he wants to get them both in a room and have a proper conversation.
"I have to get in between these two guys at some stage ... I think I need to be the mediator and get them both in a room and let them have it out rather than playing it out in the media. They're both pretty feisty characters and we know this issue that's come up now goes back six or eight months, back to the Ashes selection. That's where it all started. It sounds like an issue that's gone on without either of them sitting down and having a face-to-face conversation. I'd like to see that happen," Ponting told Sunrise.
Earlier, Johnson also wrote that Warner has not owned up to the infamous 'ball-tampering scandal".
"It's been five years and David Warner has still never really owned the ball-tampering scandal," Johnson wrote. "Now the way he is going out is underpinned by more of the same arrogance and disrespect to our country. As we prepare for David Warner's farewell series, can somebody please tell me why?".