Add Chadd Sayers to the list of former Australian Test players to have gotten under Shane Warne’s skin, with the legendary former spin bowler letting rip with both barrels at the former Shield star on Twitter.
Sayers was one of many onlookers who strongly disagreed with Warne’s opinion that yesterday’s feel-good century-maker Usman Khawaja should have been overlooked by the selectors for this Test match in favour of a recall for Mitchell Marsh, who was called into the squad as cover after Travis Head was ruled out due to COVID-19.
Specifically, Warne declared he would “much rather bowl to Khawaja” than Mitchell Marsh.
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While Warne has since said multiple times that he was merely backing an in-form superstar in the making, rather than knocking the claims of Khawaja, his comments have still travelled far and wide and left him open to mockery.
That invitation was taken by Sayers, who described Warne as “wrong” about Khawaja and also about Mitchell Starc, who has often seemed a favourite target of the Fox Cricket commentator.
“Shane Warne keeps bagging his own Aussie players,” Sayers tweeted. “Went hard at Starc – Wrong, and now Uzzie – wrong. Shut up.”
https://twitter.com/ShaneWarne/status/1479215822232977409?s=20
Not one to take criticism lightly, Warne fired back a tweet of his own, using the opportunity to give yet another unflattering opinion, this time about Sayers’ bowling.
“Hey champ, Fyi – Saying you would prefer to bowl to Khawaja than Marsh is not bagging anyone.”
“Ps, I bowled spin. You bowled so called ‘pace’.
“The keeper stood in the same spot hahaha. Ps, you would need a helmet bowling to Mitchell Marsh right now.”
Sayers isn’t the first former Australian Test player to get both barrels from Warne publicly, with the ‘king of spin’ using his platform to take semi-regular shots at his former captain Steve Waugh, who he fell out with after he was dropped for a Test during Australia’s tour of the West Indies in 1999.
Warne was also criticised for his opinions by Mitchell Johnson earlier this summer, with the former left-arm quick telling Wide World of Sports that Warne’s commentary on Mitchell Strarc could be damaging.
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