Remembering Mitchell Johnson's frightening run in 2013/14

[Hasan123]

Mitchell Johnson ashes in 2013/2014 and his series has to be one of the most devastating runs for a fast bowler in recent memory. The fear he created amongst SA and English batsmen is something that hasn't been seen often.

Whilst Johnson is not ATG, created this thread in memory of that of that period. Also credit to Michael Clarkes captaincy as he used Johnson in short spells and gave him the licence to bowl fast in a short spell with attacking fields.
[MENTION=141557]Chief Destroyer[/MENTION] [MENTION=97523]Buffet[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

 

[Hasan123]

[MENTION=132373]Convict[/MENTION]

 

[KyoOne]

Was lethal in later half of his career.

 

[Ab Fan]

One of the devastating seasons of all-time by a fast bowler.

 

[Hamza_]

Absolutely breathtaking stuff it was.

Videos on youtube are worth watching.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Was lethal in later half of his career.

It was for a few months.

He was a disappointment when Aussies visited UAE tho. But Yee-Haaw for MJ!

 

[Hasan123]

One of the devastating seasons of all-time by a fast bowler.

Agreed. A shame he couldn't do it for a longer period.

 

[WengerOut]

I have been watching cricket for last 20 odd years. Only 2 bowlers for me have terrorized batsmen in a physical way when they were on song ; Akhtar and Johnson.

 

[SM1989]

It was awesome to see him being useless in UAE in 2014 following the devastation he caused in the Ashes. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

 

[SLcric123]

Breathtaking stuff from him. ABDV was the only player who did well against him.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

The stuff of legends.He was unbelievable in the Ashes as well as the South Africa series.

 

[SM1989]

The stuff of legends.He was unbelievable in the Ashes as well as the South Africa series.

Why was he a failure in the UAE the following year? Is he just one of those bowlers who can only be good at home?

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Why was he a failure in the UAE the following year? Is he just one of those bowlers who can only be good at home?

Or maybe he just got off his purple patch?He always did well in favorable conditions.

He generally failed in the subcontinent.Has a bowling average of 40+ in SL,India and the UAE.

 

[SM1989]

Or maybe he just got off his purple patch?He always did well in favorable conditions.

He generally failed in the subcontinent.Has a bowling average of 40+ in SL,India and the UAE.

Thats the thing. We berate bowlers like Yasir Shah for not performing in England and only on Dusty asian pitches. But the same standard is not applied to Mitchell Johnson.

 

[Robert]

Lillee did a great coaching job to turn him from a scattergun who got picked off at will to a.... well, a left-arm Lillee.

 

[Princejain191]

It was for a few months.

He was a disappointment when Aussies visited UAE tho. But Yee-Haaw for MJ!

UAE pitches are the real disappointment. Completely discourages any exciting test cricket for 80% of the match. Not much fast bowlers can do.

 

[Buffet]

Thats the thing. We berate bowlers like Yasir Shah for not performing in England and only on Dusty asian pitches. But the same standard is not applied to Mitchell Johnson.

How many Aus called Johnson an ATG bowler? Many Aus berate players as well if they only perform at home.

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On Topic - I can't forget how Broad got out while trying to avoid a ball. It used to happen in earlier eras often, but not a common sight in current era.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

Lillee did a great coaching job to turn him from a scattergun who got picked off at will to a.... well, a left-arm Lillee.

More of a Thomson than Lillee.

 

[Chief Destroyer]

I watched every single game and probably every spell. I was hooked. Fast bowling and batsmen facing fast bowlers is why I watch cricket.

Johnson had two periods in his career where he bowled express, around 2009 and 2013-14.

Johnson is what I hoped Wahab would become. Unfortunately, we don't have the coaches or resources to fine-tune Wahab's raw ability. He's had his moments but he could've been so much more.

 

[Bilal7]

That Ashes series and the series in South Africa after that were superb entertainment. Batsman after batsman was hopping around due to the sheer pace and ferocity of the previously ridiculed Australian speedster. Massive respect to AB and Amla for being the only batsmen that were able to fend off Mitch at his best.

Why was he a failure in the UAE the following year? Is he just one of those bowlers who can only be good at home?

Come on, man. How do you expect a bowler like MJ to find success on the slow and low roads of the UAE? There was absolutely no bounce or pace on offer.

After that, MJ started to slow down and never regained the form he had found himself in during the previous summer.

I watched every single game and probably every spell. I was hooked. Fast bowling and batsmen facing fast bowlers is why I watch cricket.

Johnson had two periods in his career where he bowled express, around 2009 and 2013-14.

Johnson is what I hoped Wahab would become. Unfortunately, we don't have the coaches or resources to fine-tune Wahab's raw ability. He's had his moments but he could've been so much more.

Good point about Riaz. He definitely could have become someone like MJ and during a brief moment in the 2015 WC he did look like the Pakistani Johnson but it wasn't to last.

 

[wrongun]

It was for a few months.

He was a disappointment when Aussies visited UAE tho. But Yee-Haaw for MJ!

Seems like no-one on here remembers that he had a sustained run of bone-breaking, helmet rattling, wicket taking form across 2008-2009 as well.

The bloke has 300 odd Test wickets and muppets on here write him off as a one series wonder.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Seems like no-one on here remembers that he had a sustained run of bone-breaking, helmet rattling, wicket taking form across 2008-2009 as well.

The bloke has 300 odd Test wickets and muppets on here write him off as a one series wonder.

Do not get triggered triggered o dear. Name calling and all

Just saying things as I recall. Ain't no ESPN to follow his career around

All I remember is him bowling 120kph jaffas to Misbah and Clarke setting fielders behind WK, for top edges and all that you know

 

[R0H1T]

Tbf England have a propensity for implosion like no other (test) team. They lost what 3/4 five match series against the Windies on the trot, home & way! That MJ was in the form of his lfe was just what the doctor ordered for Aus, without him (bat & bowl) Aus would've struggled to win the series, especially considering the poor starts they had in virtually each of the first few games.

 

[Extra_Cover]

To be honest, this is the reason I love cricket. The adrenaline rush good fast bowling gives you it cannot be substituted by spin bowling or hitting boundaries.

This is the level of adrenaline rush where cricket can match other sports like boxing, F1, football, etc.

At the moment when cricket is trying to become a global sport we need more seasons of tearaway fast bowling where the batsmen are genuinely in fear of their wellbeing. As mentioned before this sort of adrenaline rush will only attract new viewers to watch this sport.

For me if cricket needs to revive enthusiasm then the most important step it should take is organising a test championship. This would make test cricket vital and the winner would be ranked as the best cricketing nation as Test format is what paints the picture of real cricket. Now I don't want the championship proposed by ICC where 9 teams will participate, it wont work that way. The best way, I believe to go about test championship is to divide the 12 test nations into three tiers. Tier 1 would be top 4 ranked teams and the winner would then be crowned as champions. The winner of tier 2 and tier 3 will be promoted onto the above respective tiers and losers would be demoted to below tiers. The idea is that each team in a tier will get to play the other 3 countries at least 2 home and 2 away games and points would be allocated appropriately. The championship would last a 2 years cycle.

I understand that I deviated from the topic of Mitch Johnson, but above is just my personal wish to see revival of interest in test cricket and teams actually playing for an eventual prize resulting in more competition.

I don't want any sort of ODI championship as we already have an ODI and T20 world cup which justifies the champion of that format.