Here are 5 reasons, Why Mitchell Johnson was the last of the generation of feared fast bowler
As Mitchell Johnson walked off into the sunset after the draw in the second test between Australia and New Zealand, the game of cricket has become poorer without him. In the age where batsmen rule the roost with their immense bats on flat pitches, Johnson was the lone spark who was left in the ever-diminishing quota of good fast bowlers. It was perhaps fitting that he took the only two New Zealand wickets to fall in the second innings – both to bouncers. With that, he finished as Australia’™s fifth highest wicket taker of all time, and certainly one of their most dangerous.
After a poor debut in which he went for 1-157 against New Zealand, Johnson roared back with several impressive spells in both Tests and ODIs. Though he never reached great heights in the shorter format of the game, he was feared in the longer version. After Brett Lee, Glenn McGrath and Michael Kasprowicz announced their retirement from test cricket, it was left to be seen who would take on the mantle of Australia’™s pace spearhead. It was then that Mitchell Johnson came roaring into the national side. Johnson, who wasn't even picked for the Cricket World Cup in 2007, would emerge as Australia’s best modern-day bowler.
Let’s take a look at 5 reasons why Johnson was so feared by all:
#1 Speed Machine
Stories of how bowlers sacrificed pace to increase longevity are plenty in the modern game. Take Chaminda Vaas, Zaheer Khan or even Dale Steyn – they were all quick bowlers who shaved off a few miles per hour from their speed to ensure that they don’t lose the battle between the body and the game. Perhaps in the long run, it was the wise move. Stories of fast bowlers’ careers being ended by injuries are also rife – Shaun Tait, Shane Bond and Simon Jones come to mind. But there are bowlers still, who withstood the test of time and fatigue and came out on top, just as fast and menacing as they originally were. Mitchell Johnson was one such bowler.
#2 Not a One- Trick Pony
Sometimes, fast bowlers tend to repeat their tricks. Some bowlers stick to a single probing line outside off-stump, trying to entice the batsman into sticking their bat out. Some keep pitching the ball up and try to bring about expansive drives. Others perform only on certain surfaces, which are tailor-made for fast bowling but fail to make an impact on unresponsive wickets. Mitchell Johnson did not belong in any of those criteria – he was in a class of his own.
When pace didn’t help him, Johnson resorted to making it move off the pitch. In Vadodara, India found out the hard way. After an accurate bouncer took care of Yuvraj Singh, Johnson returned to take out MS Dhoni and Robin Uthappa to deliveries that straightened. In his second spell, he took one away from Irfan Pathan who could only nick it to the ‘keeper. Another rip-snorter saw Murali Kartik glove it to Gilchrist, and Johnson got his maiden five-for – in Indian conditions.
#3 Destroyer of Men
Most fast bowlers would agree that it needs a special skill to truly unnerve the batsman. A bowler could have pace, accuracy and even the ability to appear threatening, but they need to be cut from a different kind of cloth to make the batsman cower in front of the stumps. Only the best of bowlers cause batsmen to take notice when they bound up to the crease. The delivery stride makes their eyes go wide, and the release causes their heart to leap into their mouth, wondering whether the ball would crash into their toes or their helmet. Mitchell Johnson had that effect on every batsman.
#4 The Intermediate Game
It is said that fast bowlers needed to be mean and scary looking to truly strike fear in the hearts of batsmen. Bowlers often went out of their way to increase the feeling of trepidation among the batsmen and whipped up several traits to help them along the way. Different bowlers had their own unique style – the West Indian bowlers had the ‘glare’, Jeff Thompson had his roundarm action, Shoaib Akthar had raw pace and Merv Hughes had the handlebar moustache. Mitchell Johnson? He had them all.
#5 Single Man Army
It is quite well known that fast bowlers hunt in pairs. Fast bowlers often made it their mission to seek a partner who could trouble batsmen as well as they could, and once they found one, they were unstoppable. Thompson-Lillee, Ambrose-Bishop, Wasim-Waqar and Garner-Marshall were the greatest of such pairs, and the way they terrorized batsmen was the stuff of legend. Even in modern times, the same is implemented in several sides.
Be it Steyn-Morkel for South Africa, Boult-Southee for New Zealand or even Starc-Pattinson for Australia, the very prospect of a tearaway tag-team is a bit daunting for batsmen. Then there was Mitchell Johnson, who took apart teams all by his lonesome threat.
