Clarke backs Warner to behave, Johnson leads battle cry
SYDNEY: Australia captain Michael Clarke expects temperamental opener David Warner to be on his best behaviour in Thursday’s World Cup semifinal against India, but Mitchell Johnson is ready to step up the sledging war.
Warner, who has already been warned twice for on-field verbal sledges, faces suspension from the final, should Australia qualify, if he is found guilty of another misdemeanour at the Sydney Cricket ground.
“David will be fine,” Clarke told reporters on Wednesday. “He knows the rules, as we all do, and his rules are no different than the rest of ours.”
But fast bowler Johnson said he did not expect any let up in Australia’s aggressive approach, and was even willing to take the lead if Warner did not sledge.
“I heard Davey (Warner) say he was not going to get involved in all that stuff,” Johnson told Fox Sports. “Someone has got to do it and I think I might put my hand up. It’s part of the game.”
Meanwhile all-rounder Shane Watson accepted he too was on thin ice after being fined for exchanging words with Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz during Australia’s quarter-final victory.
“I don’t want to get fined again or get suspended so I know I’m going to have to be even more diligent with what I say, when I say it and how I say it,” Watson said.
“Based on my last fine, I am just about on my last warning.”
The International Cricket Council faced criticism for being heavy-handed in fining both Wahab and Watson, but chief executive David Richardson insisted they had done the right thing.
“I enjoyed the competitiveness ... it was just a pity it extended later in the game to something you wouldn’t want your kids to see,” said Richardson.
“Things get heated -- we actually like them to get heated from time to time. On the odd occasion, you lose your cool and you say something you shouldn’t -- perhaps you should get a fine or you might get suspended.”