Watching Mitchell Johnson steaming in to bowl is a sight of both beauty and power. His run-up is graceful and release explosive.
This mild-mannered Aussie has a brutal streak in him as a pace spearhead. In the last two seasons, this left-armer has got most things right.
“My job, most of the time, is to intimidate and get wickets,” declared Johnson, who says he looks forward to the Boxing Day Test.
Johnson’s searing pace, bounce and the left-armer’s angle with a hint of movement enabled him make decisive inroads on the fourth morning at the ’Gabba.
The speedster conceded he was under a little pressure in the second Test since “the ball had missed the edges and the catches were not going into the hands (in the first innings).”
“The heat on the first day was probably the ‘hottest’ cricket I was ever involved in,” he said.
In the second innings, Johnson was menacing.
“You just get into the zone. I wasn’t thinking about too many things, and continued to do the job for the team. I wasn’t thinking about what batters would be coming in and who was next,” he said.
The 33-year-old has often had to fight his way back from tough situations. Not for nothing did pace legend Dennis Lillee call him a “once in a generation bowler.”
And during the tough phase when Johnson was searching for rhythm and wickets after recovering from a stress fracture of the back, Lillee had said: “I would bet anything on Johnson coming good again.”
Johnson took flight once more. The pace predator was deadly against England in the Ashes Down Under in 2013-14, with 37 wickets in five Tests at 13.97. His pace, lift and precision not just exposed the technical failings of some of the English batsmen but put fright into a few of them.
Then, in another famous away series conquest for Australia, he blew away much of the South African line-up for 22 wickets in three Tests at 17.36.
The pace ace’s 278 wickets in 63 Tests have come at a laudable strike rate of 50.8.
Given his methods with the ball, Johnson can hurt batsmen physically. But, then, in the light of Phillip Hughes’s tragic death, he was a worried man after striking Virat Kohli with a bouncer at Adelaide.
“For me, that was a natural reaction. I did hear someone say that we overreacted and then carried on. It was just an emotional sort of feeling, like the first time when you struck someone on the helmet. Now, I have moved on from that…not straightaway, but as the Test series has gone on,” he said.
“That aggression is now back in my game. That works well for me, bowling aggressive and getting the guys out,” he said.
The Queensland-born cricketer said the Indian sledging when he batted at the ’Gabba had stirred his combative instincts. “Look, I have always liked a bit of verbal on the field. When I am batting I like to get it, because it gets me going.”
Johnson’s hectic 93-ball 88 changed the complexion of the second Test when Australia was seemingly down for the count.
“It’s all a part of the game but it (the Indians’ sledging) put them off their game. They went too far off, maybe,” he said.
On his exchange of words with Rohit Sharma, Johnson said: “I said a few words early and let it go after that, and started bowling at Rohit. He seemed to have a fair bit to say; I don’t think he had the greatest game. I think he may just have been a bit frustrated.”
Johnson said Josh Hazlewood “was outstanding on his debut.”
“The pace group we had (for Brisbane) was the right one but you are always going to miss guys like Ryan Harris, who is so consistent,” he added.
Surprised
Johnson said he was surprised to see Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav generate pace at the ’Gabba.
“Coming from the condition they play in — on flat, low wickets — it’s actually a nice surprise to see quick bowlers coming out of there (India). Hopefully, Aaron and Yadav can continue to bowl fast. It makes the game exciting, the crowds love it.
“Ishant, when he first came here, was bowling in the 150s (kmph) but it’s a shame that he has lost a bit of pace.”
Come Boxing Day, and Johnson will be flexing his muscles.
