Johnson is the world's best bowler: Ponting

[PotterManiac]

Australian cricket skipper Ricky Ponting has hailed Mitchell Johnson as the world's premier quick. Johnson, on a hattrick in his first over against Pakistan yesterday, now has a staggering 63 Test wickets at 27.42 in a year where his fortunes fluctuated wildly. He has claimed 17 more wickets than Test cricket's next best performed quick, England young gun Stuart Broad. It now seems hard to believe that Johnson could hardly hit the pitch during the second Ashes Test at Lord's and was on the brink of being dropped. The masterstroke was Ponting taking the new ball out of the fast bowler's hands in England. It gave Johnson more freedom and less pressure and also helped the left-armer become a dangerous weapon by swinging the older ball. "I honestly feel one of the big things for Mitch is the fact he's not bowling with the new ball," Ponting said. "We've seen at different times how dangerous and damaging he can be with the new ball, but I think we've seen here in conditions where the old ball does a little bit as well, that's when he's at his most effective," Ponting added. "I spoke to him in India in the one-day series about that fact, that he fits in our team best as that first-change bowler and he's proven in this game here that with an old ball he's dangerous. He'll continue to change things, he'll continue trying to work on becoming a very good new-ball bowler as well," Ponting said. Despite coming on at first-change behind Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger, a rejuvenated Johnson insists he remains the spearhead of the Australian attack. "I'm still the leader of the attack even though I'm not taking the new ball," Johnson declared. "I am just thinking more positively about my bowling and just have the confident to go out there and do what I want to do and not worry about another thing," he said Courtesy:Yahoo!

[achilles]

World's Best Bowler cry when Mommy disapprove of girlfriend? :(( :bow:

[vvvslaxman]

He has improved a lot thought he doesn't have any special skills. Commies explained why he is more effective than other bowlers. Purple: Bollinger Green: Johnson Johnson comes much straighter when he releases the ball so it gives an illusion that ball is coming at the batsman rather than leaving him. Even though the distance between stumps and ball is the same for each delivery when it passes the batsman, batsman is able to leave Bollinger more comfortably than Johnson. Because Bollinger bowls wide off the crease. It is a dead give away that ball won't hit the stumps. It is a good technique to make the batsman play at him.

[kabira]

he was crap in Ashes and crap against windies. too many hit me balls would have put Agarkar to shame

[Karan114]

Yeah Pwnting, your "world's best bowler" who couldn't prevent you losing the Ashes, your first home series loss in sixteen years and a series loss in India, not to mention almost letting the West Indies draw with you on home soil. What a joke.

[sachinrox]

He has improved a lot thought he doesn't have any special skills. Commies explained why he is more effective than other bowlers. Purple: Bollinger Green: Johnson Johnson comes much straighter when he releases the ball so it gives an illusion that ball is coming at the batsman rather than leaving him. Even though the distance between stumps and ball is the same for each delivery when it passes the batsman, batsman is able to leave Bollinger more comfortably than Johnson. Because Bollinger bowls wide off the crease. It is a dead give away that ball won't hit the stumps. It is a good technique to make the batsman play at him.

Great analysis and assesment of their angle.Johnson does well because he skids the ball off the turf and also has decent pace and movement to trouble the batsman, to add more power in his shoulders, hes got a very good bouncer, climbing on the batsman's rib-cage which is not easy to handle.He can go for runs, but hes an attacking option, a wicket taker IMO.And if :punter: said that hes the best, i think he is one of the best at present without any doubt if not the best

[Bumper]

Johnson is amazingly fit for the pace he bowls. You have to give that to him. He is well built, bowls pretty much the same pace throughout his spell all day. He may not have much variations but he makes up for it with his accuracy. India will kill to have a bowler like him. No doubt that he is among the top 3 pacers in the world at the moment.

[vvvslaxman]

Yup supremely fit. He is able to maintain the pace right through the game.

[retterimp]

its not called being "best". its called being "andhon mein kanha raja', especially after bond has quit now