Mitchell Johnson’s fiery pace was too hot for England to handle

Tags: England tour of Australia 2013 - 14, England, Australia, Mitchell Guy Johnson

Published on: Nov 25, 2013

Left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson is quite an enigma of Australian cricket. Having made his Test debut back in 2007 and having featured in over 50 Tests, he is among the most experienced members of the squad.

Left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson is quite an enigma of Australian cricket. Having made his Test debut back in 2007 and having featured in over 50 Tests, he is among the most experienced members of the squad. Yet, he hasn’t been viewed as the leader of the pace attack. More has been expected of the fast bowlers who have made their debuts after Johnson, namely Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, because they have been more consistent, and importantly have looked like taking wickets. But, at the Gabba, Brisbane, it was all Johnson, and England had no reply.

It has been no secret over the years that Johnson can produce extreme pace. However, he has had problems with his confidence. Johnson has often been found wanting when the batsmen have taken him on, and on most occasions he has come second. In such battles, he has displayed a tendency to lose his line and length, and has often given away easy runs down the leg side. It was shocking to see such displays from a man so talented, and that too time and again. It was one of the key reasons why he found himself out of the Test side for a while.

Considering all that has been mentioned above, it was refreshing to see the left-arm seamer at his lethal best against England in the first Test at The Ashes. As mentioned earlier, confidence has been the key to Johnson’s bowling over the years. And, in this particular Test, he has aided by the fact that he came up with a solid batting performance at a time when Australia were under extreme pressure. It often happens that when a player does well it one aspect of his game, it automatically rubs off on the other part of his play. This is exactly what happened at Brisbane.

Unlike some of the earlier matches, this time the left-arm seamer was spot on right from the start, buoyed by his batting effort. Most of the English batsmen had no idea how to deal with his extreme pace and bounce. Even the highly experienced English batsmen struggled against him, so it was no surprise that the lower order had a harrowing time against him. Johnson’s spell late on day four when he blew away the likes of Broad, Swann and Anderson in no time with his fearsome pace was exceptional to watch.

Australia should consider themselves lucky that some of their younger fast bowlers are injured else Johnson wouldn’t have been playing in the Test. To his credit, the 32-year-old grabbed his chance with both hands. In hindsight, Johnson’s impressive performance during the ODI series in India recently was crucial. He bounced out he likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina regularly during that series even as the rest of the bowlers from both sides struggled. It would be prudent to remember here that Johnson was withdrawn from Indian series before the decider, and Australia went on to lose the last ODI, and the series. The selectors had the bigger picture in mind though. Considering Johnson’s match- winning performance at the Gabba, their decision to recall Johnson early from the India tour stands completely justified.

--By A Cricket Analyst

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