Mitchell Johnson vs. Dale Steyn

[gaurav92]

It is almost like Leverock saying' date=' until Johnson starts troubling Bermuda we can't accept him as a great fast bowler.[/quote'] :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[Muloghonto]

No' date=' more like Viru vs SRT. Yuvraj has not done anything in tests while Johnson is probably 2nd best left armer ever.[/quote'] Not even close, Alan Davidson says hello.

[Ultimate_Game]

Nothing like that. Johnson never played against Bermuda in tests unlike against Pakistan where he is proven failure despite playing on spicy pitches of Aus and Eng.

Didn't Pak win just 1 test against Aus in the last 20 years or so? It's not as if Pak has been carting Johnson all over the place for eons :giggle:

[putrevus]

It is almost like Leverock saying' date=' until Johnson starts troubling Bermuda we can't accept him as a great fast bowler.[/quote'] :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[Muloghonto]

Johnson is bowling really well at the moment but his success is a bit overrated. Basically, what he is doing, is bowling fast, mixing in fuller bouncers that are the nastiest to evade from and mixing it with full pitched deliveries that deliver the classic 'front foot backfoot indecision' one-two. Pretty much what the likes of Thommo, Holding, Croft, Bishop, Ambrose, Walsh did. Its remarkably successful right now but its because these batsmen have gone several years since experiencing this kind of hostility, so they are not used to it. The last guy who bowled like this was Ntini at his peak but Ntini bowled to batsmen who were used to this kind of bodyline, having regularly played versus Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, etc. The real test is, how Johnson will shape up in the next year or two.

[Ultimate_Game]

Johnson is bowling really well at the moment but his success is a bit overrated. Basically, what he is doing, is bowling fast, mixing in fuller bouncers that are the nastiest to evade from and mixing it with full pitched deliveries that deliver the classic 'front foot backfoot indecision' one-two. Pretty much what the likes of Thommo, Holding, Croft, Bishop, Ambrose, Walsh did. Its remarkably successful right now but its because these batsmen have gone several years since experiencing this kind of hostility, so they are not used to it. The last guy who bowled like this was Ntini at his peak but Ntini bowled to batsmen who were used to this kind of bodyline, having regularly played versus Donald, Ambrose, Walsh, etc. The real test is, how Johnson will shape up in the next year or two.

What's so special about Johnson is his accuracy. I've never seen a fast bowler so accurate with short pitched stuff. Nearly every bouncer he bowls goes at the batsman's head/throat/chest area. With other bowlers barely 1 in 6 bouncers is accurate enough and batsmen could evade most bouncers but with Johnson's accuracy and control even that option is not so simple. The guy has hit a purple patch which few fast bowlers managed to hit in the history of the game and I doff my cap to him for it :hatsoff:

[EnterTheVoid]

Johnson spent some time with the SAS (Special Air Service), Australias version of the Navy seals. That stint helped him immensely.

[Ultimate_Game]

Johnson spent some time with the SAS (Special Air Service)' date=' Australias version of the Navy seals. That stint helped him immensely.[/quote'] I'm all for our pacers to be sent to that bootcamp :agree:

[SLICKR392]

Johnson spent some time with the SAS (Special Air Service)' date=' Australias version of the Navy seals. That stint helped him immensely.[/quote'] Isn't the British special ops named as SAS too? Call Of Duty knowledge. :P

[maniac]

Steyn hands down....Johnson is the flavor of the season where as Steyn is already an ATG. Maybe a little too harsh on Johnson as he has had a similar resurgence in the past but still not even a contest.

[vvvslaxman]

Steyn hands down....Johnson is the flavor of the season where as Steyn is already an ATG. Maybe a little too harsh on Johnson as he has had a similar resurgence in the past but still not even a contest.

Johnson is an enforcer. He can make people retire, he can drive people to depression, he can make a team drop whole bunch of players. :cantstop:

[Ultimate_Game]

Johnson is an enforcer. He can make people retire' date=' he can drive people to depression, he can make a team drop whole bunch of players. :cantstop:[/quote'] I get a feeling this might be Smith's last Test series and may well be the end of players like Alviro Petersen, Duminy, McLaren and maybe Faf.

[vvvslaxman]

Incredible. Dale Steyn has never played a 4 test series. Maximum is 3 test series. Would have loved to see how he would have done over a period of 5 tests.

[rkt.india]

He now has 254 wickets in 57 tests at 27. This going to come down even more.

[rkt.india]

Not even close' date=' Alan Davidson says hello.[/quote'] I already said above that both very close but that was 1950s. His average was impressive bit strike rate poor. Test cricket was completely different back then. His ER of less than 2 tells you that it was big factor in his low average. Cricket was like that back then, slow.

[Old guy]

How many English captains has Johnson retired? :p

[Old guy]

Incredible. Dale Steyn has never played a 4 test series. Maximum is 3 test series. Would have loved to see how he would have done over a period of 5 tests.

He gets better as series progresses...

[Muloghonto]

I already said above that both very close but that was 1950s. His average was impressive bit strike rate poor. Test cricket was completely different back then. His ER of less than 2 tells you that it was big factor in his low average. Cricket was like that back then' date=' slow.[/quote'] I don't care how poor a strike rate someone has, a distinctly superior average ( 20+ change compared to 27+ change) is a distinct superiority. Period. His low ER tells us that his strike rate was poor because the batsmen never played attacking shots against him, which means much less opportunities to get caught behind decisions. Its much harder to get wickets when batsmen are playing low risk defensive shots all the time than when batsmen are attacking. Comparing Johnson to Davidson is like comparing Afridi to Dravid. Oh and I'd easily take Bruce Reid over Johnson too.

[Ultimate_Game]

I don't care how poor a strike rate someone has, a distinctly superior average ( 20+ change compared to 27+ change) is a distinct superiority. Period. His low ER tells us that his strike rate was poor because the batsmen never played attacking shots against him, which means much less opportunities to get caught behind decisions. Its much harder to get wickets when batsmen are playing low risk defensive shots all the time than when batsmen are attacking. Comparing Johnson to Davidson is like comparing Afridi to Dravid. Oh and I'd easily take Bruce Reid over Johnson too.

No way is Davidson-Johnson comparison as poor as Afridi-Dravid one, and with all respect Bruce Reid is nowhere close to Johnson as a cricketer.

[maniac]

I don't care how poor a strike rate someone has, a distinctly superior average ( 20+ change compared to 27+ change) is a distinct superiority. Period. His low ER tells us that his strike rate was poor because the batsmen never played attacking shots against him, which means much less opportunities to get caught behind decisions. Its much harder to get wickets when batsmen are playing low risk defensive shots all the time than when batsmen are attacking. Comparing Johnson to Davidson is like comparing Afridi to Dravid. Oh and I'd easily take Bruce Reid over Johnson too.

Disagree....Johnson is 10 times the cricketer Bruce Reid ever was despite the fact that I think he is nowhere in the same league as Steyn yet