Mitchell Johnson

[King]

Looked the worst of the bowlers in the Wellington cricket test match. The likes of Bollinger and Harris are way ahead of him. I was at the ground for the last three days and if there was one bowler that looked completely out of sorts it was Johnson. Aussies are better off to play without him. He just bangs the ball in with no accuracy whatsoever. The number of short balls that go way over the head and the ones that go down the leg side is alarming for a test match bowler of some credentials. He really needs to do something about his bowling, in Wellington bowling with the wind he wasn't producing great pace either. Don't know how it looked on TV but he was not as sharp as he's made out to be. On the other hand, I was very impressed with Bollinger and even Harris. They are way sharper than they look and get good carry to the keeper. They are always at the batsmen and the number of hit me balls they bowl are not as many. It has to be said, the Aussie bowling is not even half of what it used to be in the early 2000s. This bowling attack needs to mature heaps. They aren't bad but they still need a bit of experience.

[punjabiplaya]

Good point but you have to stick with Johnson hes a proven matchwinner and hes got guts and is a fighter a true aussie,hes a talented batsman and i feel he has the potential to be one of the top allrounders in the world today!!!

[Sachinism]

I've always said Johnson is a rubbish bowler. He picks up wickets with a lot of luck. He'll bowl a bunch of garbage deliveries all over the place and then by luck land one in the right area and pick up a wicket.

[Clarke]

He adds variety because of his eccentric way of bowling, especially the late away swinger which few can imitate. Trust me, the short & fast deliveries he bowls must be hard to face from that angle @ 90+ mph. The lack of the in-swinger does hurt although his batting is a bit of a plus. That said, Hilfy should surely retain his place over him.

[Watson87]

That was just one bad test match and already people are bashing him. He was the pick of the bowlers in the odis. He'll come good in the 2nd Test.

[Bradman99]

I disagree with you, he is a hit and miss bowler. He certainly should not be dropped. We need someone like him in the side. That is why he has been demoted from opening because of his inconsistency. But when he gets it right, he is good enough to beat any batsman in the world.

[thevortex]

I've always said Johnson is a rubbish bowler. He picks up wickets with a lot of luck. He'll bowl a bunch of garbage deliveries all over the place and then by luck land one in the right area and pick up a wicket.

I agree, Sachinism. Although his wickets are all not by dint of luck. His pace does it for him when the ball is in the right channels. But at the highest level, pace alone is not going to do it for him. I certainly dont agree with Lillee in his generous pace for Johnson at any rate.

[saneindian]

MJ has this uncanny knack of producing unplayable deliveries out of nowhere every now and then which gets him so many wickets. And as long as a bowler is getting you wickets, there should be no complaints.

[fuub]

He seems to have a knack of breaking fingers too, it doesnt go down as a wicket stat or anything but certainly disadvantages the other team. Also in an era where a 50+ batting average isnt too special he has a strike rate above guys like murali ambrose gillespie akram pollock. He may never find consistency but probably will always get a test spot while he keeps up those numbers

[Mamu]

Consistency -- Johnson lacks consistecy. So does Steyn. I am not sure why bowlers in this day and age are so inconsistenct -- but bowlers are. May be the shift from one format to another in a short span affects them. Irrespective I think -- he is a match winner.

[f.b.m]

All that comes in a package. He's something like a Sehwag of bowling. Strangely like Sehwag, he thrives on drier wickets and takes time to adapt to new ball friendly conditions simply because he never had a decent seam position. Having said that, there is a definite pattern to his bowling and the mistakes that he makes. His full deliveries are way wide of the right handers and cut away a bit so batsmen either leave them or risk edging them. The short ones are either right at the face or slightly down the leg side depending on how short they are and at his pace you better duck under them. And his length deliveries are usually right in line and cutting or reversing away a bit (those were the ones that caused the Pakistanis all sorts of problems). All of this can actually be explained by his round arm action and varying points of release. It also explains why he could be useless against left handers as he's often been (against Strauss and Cook in the earlier part of the ashes and vettori and co here). Anyway, as long as there is a pattern to the shite that he bowls its fine and you can set fields for it, its all fine imo. And he's gotto be in the side because of the unplayable deliveries that he can produce at any point.

[thevortex]

This comparison with Sehwag has become a little ubiquitous these days! :)

[f.b.m]

Is Sehwag better than Richards? Is Sehwag better than Akram? Is Sehwag better than Holding? Is Sehwag better than Newton? Is Sehwag better than Cleopatra/Monica Bellucci? All very intriguing questions that will be discussed in the next few months here at ICF. Mark my words..

[thevortex]

I hope not, f.b.m :)

[99.94]

Finished the series with a 10 wicket match and finsished equal top of the wicket taking column with 12 at 23.

[b555]

even a bangladeshii bowler once finsihed at top f wicket taker1s list :asleep:

[achilles]

Mitchell Johnson = :mama:

[Sachinism]

Time for Mitch to be given a rest? Been useless for a while and is no way near a threat.

[Sachin=GOD]

^ yes. Looking completely out of sorts, needs a rest.

[jusarrived]

he has always been mediocre bowler really ,should have been obvious if some of them cud see beyond stats here. the only thing going for him , is that he can bowl really quick when hes in good rhythm ..fluked most of his 60+ wickets in the season where hes was ranked the top bowler , half of them was due to how well siddle was bowling at the other end ..not surprisingly hes been found out .