Mitchell Guy Johnson retires from international cricket. My hero, one of my favorite bowlers of all time calls it a day. The bowler, who brought back the fear of lethal bouncers. The one, who was unstoppable when in rhythm. Everyone saw what he did to Barmy Army in 2013-14. He ripped apart English batting single-handedly. Once described by Australian great Dennis Lilee as once is a generation cricketer, Mitchell presence with the ball in hand was enough to terrorize the batsmen. At his best, he used to break the
Judging by the numbers alone, he stands among one of the best fast bowlers to have ever played the game. 313 test wickets in 73 matches, 239 ODI wickets in 153 matches and 38 T20 International wickets in 30 matches. Among the Australian fast bowlers, his strike rate of 51.1 is the best in tests among those who have taken minimum of 150 test wickets. But, Johnson was beyond these numbers. What he brought with him on the field cannot be described by these stats. He was like a hurricane. A mayhem. A volcano ready to erupt. The english batsmen who had played the ashes of 2103-14 must be celebrating on the mere thought of not having to face him in future. I still remember the smile on England batsmen's faces, when they lost the Ashes 5-0 in Sydney. At least, it was over. The butchery. The humiliation etc. Those who played him at his best often didn't remain the same mentally. After all, how much a batsman can do? They already worry a lot about his wicket. Now, worry about health too?
He was a crowd-puller. People used to come to watch him bowl those fierce, hostile spells. When he used to run, spectators used to clap in tandem. No batsman used to be sure what missile was coming at him. Around the wicket, his action caused him to be even more lethal. Because of him, often tailenders used to choose a short quick innings instead of hanging around. He won the ICC cricketer of the year two times in 2009 and 2014 as well winning the test cricketer of the year in 2014. Who will forget that spell of 61-8 at WACA when he destroyed South Africa with pace, bounce and terror. He was one of the bowlers, batsmen used to run away from.
Johnson career was full of ups and downs. The intensity which he brought to the game often came at a price. He often struggled with injuries, rhythm. He was almost at his breaking point in 2009 before coming back with a bang rediscovering his love for cricket and annihilating South Africa. The death of Philip Hughes took a toil of him mentally. He was never the same after that. He tried to emulate his past successes, but it was merely a shadow of him at his best. Also, after the retirement of Ryan Harris, he was missing a doublet to bowl with. He used to work best with him. Also, the missing juice in the recently prepared tracks at Gabba and WACA against India and New Zealand took everything out of him. He sensed that there won't be a better moment to retire than with the decline of the WACA ground as he had so many fond memories of that place.
Apart from this, an amazing human being and always played to win. His intensity was contagious. He will retire as all time great cricketers. Personally, He was my favorite and I am going to miss him. He has left a lot of nice memories for all of us. #ThankYouMitch
Judging by the numbers alone, he stands among one of the best fast bowlers to have ever played the game. 313 test wickets in 73 matches, 239 ODI wickets in 153 matches and 38 T20 International wickets in 30 matches. Among the Australian fast bowlers, his strike rate of 51.1 is the best in tests among those who have taken minimum of 150 test wickets. But, Johnson was beyond these numbers. What he brought with him on the field cannot be described by these stats. He was like a hurricane. A mayhem. A volcano ready to erupt. The english batsmen who had played the ashes of 2103-14 must be celebrating on the mere thought of not having to face him in future. I still remember the smile on England batsmen's faces, when they lost the Ashes 5-0 in Sydney. At least, it was over. The butchery. The humiliation etc. Those who played him at his best often didn't remain the same mentally. After all, how much a batsman can do? They already worry a lot about his wicket. Now, worry about health too?
He was a crowd-puller. People used to come to watch him bowl those fierce, hostile spells. When he used to run, spectators used to clap in tandem. No batsman used to be sure what missile was coming at him. Around the wicket, his action caused him to be even more lethal. Because of him, often tailenders used to choose a short quick innings instead of hanging around. He won the ICC cricketer of the year two times in 2009 and 2014 as well winning the test cricketer of the year in 2014. Who will forget that spell of 61-8 at WACA when he destroyed South Africa with pace, bounce and terror. He was one of the bowlers, batsmen used to run away from.
Johnson career was full of ups and downs. The intensity which he brought to the game often came at a price. He often struggled with injuries, rhythm. He was almost at his breaking point in 2009 before coming back with a bang rediscovering his love for cricket and annihilating South Africa. The death of Philip Hughes took a toil of him mentally. He was never the same after that. He tried to emulate his past successes, but it was merely a shadow of him at his best. Also, after the retirement of Ryan Harris, he was missing a doublet to bowl with. He used to work best with him. Also, the missing juice in the recently prepared tracks at Gabba and WACA against India and New Zealand took everything out of him. He sensed that there won't be a better moment to retire than with the decline of the WACA ground as he had so many fond memories of that place.
Apart from this, an amazing human being and always played to win. His intensity was contagious. He will retire as all time great cricketers. Personally, He was my favorite and I am going to miss him. He has left a lot of nice memories for all of us. #ThankYouMitch
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