The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Johnson’s cause for Ashes meltdown

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Johnson’s cause for Ashes meltdown

Melbourne: Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson admitted that a bitter row with his mother led to his meltdown during this year’s Ashes, which Ricky Ponting’s men lost.

Admitting that he was living in denial during the Ashes series, Johnson said the spat between his mother Vikki Harber and fiancee Jessica Bratich played on his mind during the Lord’s Test, resulting in his awful performance in the match.

Johnson returned with match figures of three for 200 from 38.4 overs in the second Test which Australia lost by 115 runs to England.

“I guess it (poor form) started off with the personal side of things. That really, probably, did get to me. I was denying it as well at the time. The personal things that came out, it were mostly through Lord’s where I felt that pressure,” Johnson was quoted as saying by the Herald Sun.

“Mentally, I have learnt to be a lot stronger. I’ve just got to concentrate on what I’m doing out in the middle,” Johnson said.

“This is what I have to do for a living and I’ve just got to leave everything behind me when I’m out there. My problems got technical as well because I was thinking about it but in the end it was just more of a mental thing.”

The 28-year-old Queenslander said the emotional toll caused by his mother Harber’s claim had such an adverse affect on him that he completely lost his focus on bowling. — PTI

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport