posted Jul 2, 2009

Johnson is a bowling god....and heavily under-rated by idiots like snoopy

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posted Jul 2, 2009

I suspect Cooley has told Mitch not to show too much and they must be planning on what areas , that means you are going to leak runs till you get it right, and TBH, Lee had much more at stake in this game and good to see him rise to the occasion

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Test cricketrs gain a reputation over their test career. This guy is a very capable cricketer and time will see how good he really is. Too many jump to conclusions after a good or poor test series or even one test match. Never right off an Aussie in an Ashes series.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

He's probably a bit underdone. I think the Aussies were counting on Johnson getting another 3 games in the 20/20 then he had to sit out the first tour game as he was the one certainty in the bowling lineup. They really needed one or two more county games.

Unfortunately they have to pick Lee now.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Mitchell johnson is above average not fearsome or threatening long time. he bowls some spell well and disappear in other spells.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Mitchell Johnson is a fantastic cricketer, and anyone criticising him now will feel more than a bit silly in a few weeks' time.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

alexrickets, he's only been 'fantastic' for one series. where was he in india in tough conditions? where was he in the 20/20 WC? where was he in today's match. the only good series he's had was against SA.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Mitchell Johnson is a good cricketer, but hes under a lot of pressure from a expectant nation that sees him as the spear head in australias attack, so maybe hes suffering from a bit of that.

But as a england fan i do fear his best form may return in the tests.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

'He's probably a bit underdone.'

you know that seems to be true

Johnson seems to take a long time to get into the groove as he was not that hot on Aus tour of WI but kept improving till he peaked in Saffer series

Wonder how long he is going to take for the Ashes

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posted Jul 2, 2009

He looks like a happy dafty

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posted Jul 2, 2009

snoopy here are Johnson's bowling averages in the seven Test series he has been involved in:

v SL 2007/08 - 30.12
v Ind 2007/08 - 33.12
v WI 2008 - 34.7
v Ind 2008/09 - 40.07
v NZ 2008/09 - 11
v SA 2008/09 - 25.88
v SA 2008/09 - 25

One good series in SA eh? What about an average of 11 against the Kiwis? 34.7 on the ultra-flat Carribean surfaces? 25.88 versus SA in Australia?
In fact, I think you'll find he has had only one significantly below-par series out of seven. Check your facts before you post next time.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

The Irony is, that before the last home summer (Kiwis and Saffas twice since) he'd actually done ok without anyone thinking he'd bowled particularly well.

For the last three series he's began bowling more consistently and his results reflect that.

The fact that many observer believe his pace was well down today means that he wasn't overdoing it. I'm not too concerned about him for the Ashes.

While I didn't want Lee to play if he can give us the sort of form he had for about 2 years prior to his ankle injury I'll take it.

An in form Lee, Johnson and Siddle will be a real handful for the poms. Now alls they have to do is figure out who to bowl from the other end that won't leak 5 an over...

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posted Jul 2, 2009

And alex, on that one significantly below-par series in India, he was still the Ozzies best seamer for the first three tests as everyone else went AWOL.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Exactly. He is a class act, has the potential to be maybe the best all-rounder in twenty years, and to say he won't cause the England batting line-up one hell of a problem this summer is wishful thinking.

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posted Jul 2, 2009

Just look at Johnson's ICC ranking and then look at the rankings of the likely English attack....Johnson is in a different class and the same for his batting.

As Graeme Smith and Arthur of South Africa have said Johnson is "class" and the Boks are prone to only criticise Australian players as a ming game but not this young gun!

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posted Jul 3, 2009

Forget about figures. I saw this go bowl against SA, and it was a great spell of fast bowling. Over 5 overs of deliveries at over 90 mph, is an incredible feat.
Also, he bloody hits the ball a long way!
If he continues improving with both bat and ball, I can see him surpassing Wasim Akram as the greatest left-arm fast bowler of all time.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

I wouldnt write him off but he looked completely dis-interested yesterday and was very poor, down on pace doesnt really matter, look at Lee you can bowl it at 95 mph all day long but if it doesn't do anything you'll just get sent to the boundaries quicker, as people have mentioned can he master swing and more importantly reverse swing with the dukes ball? if he doesn't then he wont trouble the batsmen as much as we are likely to have flat pitches,

Id be interested also how he copes with the pressure, before he has been an improving up and coming bowler, now he is the leader of the attack, he was asked about that in a guardian article and he seemed quite awkward with the tag.

I am also interested if they don't go with Hauritz then their seamers are goign to have a high workload as North looked like a buffet bowler

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posted Jul 3, 2009

Johnson usually takes a little time to find his form. He should be back to normal by at most the second innings of the first test, If not before.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

It's too early to say what he will become. DOn't judge him by the current game at Worcester. He looked like he was holding back a little and not going full tilt unlike Lee who put everything into that spell.

He was on a very hot streak against South Africa and was threatening. Touring England is a different experience. His action isn't a smooth action like Brett Lee or Stuart Clark. If the rhythm goes then he will spray it around, as he has done at Worcester.

By the end of this series, we'll have a better idea of just how good he is. Learning to bowl with the Lords slope, coping with Headingley if it gets a bit cold there (yeah yeah, I know it's been 30 degrees C this week but this is England after all!)... there's a lot to learn and I think he will learn.

At this juncture, saying he'll be the best all-rounder for 20 years is very premature. Jacques Kallis and Wasim Akram are still the modern era yardsticks by which others shall be judged.

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posted Jul 3, 2009

1. Johnson is the Ace of Spades on;

2. Advantage Australia in Ashes;

Misc:

3. Some eye-catching performances in Lions' match;

4. No one's place on this England team is secure;

5. India currently poised to take lead in St. Lucia;

6. Team batting second, in short forms, has a decided advantage;

7. 4-day Test is like the Titanic heading unwittingly into troubled waters;

8. Time to replace most ICC 'officials' with seminal thinkers. They are doing a terrible job, to say the least.

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posted Jul 6, 2009

Wow ...a cricketer with a six pack!!

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