Bucking Beads
Brownlow Medallist
The talent has always been there but the consistency has not. 7/40 without a lot of assistance from the pitch or swing is brutal. I can't wait to see how he goes if he gets some shape at the WACA.
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Mitchell Johnson - Finished?
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Very much lamenting the decision to take the test away from Perth next year.
Gysberts2Bate
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We'll see how he goes next February when we tour South Africa. Games will be played at Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town so he won't get as much assistance from the wickets as he did in Johannesburg and Durban in 2009 when he wreaked absolute havoc. Will have to have a bit more nuance to do well.
I thought he was done for good at test level, shocked at how dominant he has been so far.
I have no idea whether this is the start of a more consistent few years from him or just another magical purple patch and i am sure the man himself would say the same thing, after what he did in SA in early 2009 we thought the poms might be looking at another thrashing just a few months later and we know how that turned out.
I have no idea whether this is the start of a more consistent few years from him or just another magical purple patch and i am sure the man himself would say the same thing, after what he did in SA in early 2009 we thought the poms might be looking at another thrashing just a few months later and we know how that turned out.
Watched that spell again yesterday - only thing I'd argue was that he wasn't nearly unplayable; he flat out was.
I think you've got a point though, he is bowling very well, but the Poms are flat out scared shitless of him at present; which might change.
If he can get that swing back, then he'll have an incredibly good couple of years; that Perth spell was one of the best I've ever seen (worth a watch, if you've got 10 minutes).
What was it? wicket, wicket, wicket, broken hand, wicket, broken jaw, wicket?
Gysberts2Bate
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Broken hand and jaw were Durban, not Perth. Fearsome in both instances!
This has to be one of the worst starts to a batting innings, ever. Three of your top five batsmen dismissed for six runs as well as your captain out of the game with his second broken hand in two months when you're 350 runs down. And then later your best player breaks his jaw plus another player dismissed. Yikes.
Bucking Beads
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He broke Graeme Smiths hand at the SCG and Sangakarras thumb at the MCG. Doesn't always need a bouncy wicket to bring down the pain.
Gysberts2Bate
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SCG wicket was cracked like the Indonesian president's personal phone. SA were batting on a minefield.. The MCG performance was pretty great though.
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Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
Johnson could have been anything.
Gysberts2Bate
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Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
Johnson could have been anything.
Yeah I feel like that Ashes series was a serious fork in the road for him. I remember telling everyone I knew that that series rested on Mitch's left arm, which in the end might have been the case. Certainly let us down at Lords and he failed to penetrate in either of the drawn games, as well as batting poorly in each of our collapses (against South Africa whenever we collapsed he was the one to stand up and steady the tail with quick runs and a long stay at the crease).
If he'd played at the same level he did against South Africa with bat and ball and come away from the Ashes victorious as the Compton-Miller medallist his future might have been very different simply because of his confidence. Bowling average might be lower, batting average higher (could be batting at six or in the middle order) and we might have won many more games. But then again, he might not be as good as he is now having worked out his technique during his time away from the game. In the end we can only really go off what he does in the future! Still time for him to leave an imposing legacy.
The_Reaper
Hall of Famer
Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
Johnson could have been anything.
Yeah. Left that series feeling that Johnson and Hughes were going to continue our run at the top
With how close that 09 ashes was we didn't even need great performances from those two either, anything less than terrible might have been enough to swing the series our way.
You always wonder about that alternate universe where we get that last wicket at cardiff, maybe just going 1-0 up would have been enough to calm down some of our struggling players.
You always wonder about that alternate universe where we get that last wicket at cardiff, maybe just going 1-0 up would have been enough to calm down some of our struggling players.
Rack Watts
Here's MASON
Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
You only need an Ashes series on your record like this one to call yourself a legend.
He is 32, but he might have another Ashes in him.
We also have Starc, Cummings and Pattinson coming through.
Bucking Beads
Brownlow Medallist
Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
Johnson could have been anything.
Yep. He was destroyed on that 2009 Ashes tour. Hughes is in the same boat.
Zach Package
Prespakis2Tsatas
If anything, it's easier, He gets enough lift on any surface.
He bowls a short ball at the WACA, you trust the bounce and get under it. Lower wickets mean you have to respect the short ball, knowing that it won't go sailing over your head, and could shoot low and end up hitting you in the hip.
The Falcon Strike
Hall of Famer
The difficulty of the WACA is you don't actually need it to be short to get up to rib height.
The advantage as a batsmen, is that you get the bounce right and there are plenty of runs to be made.
Three of the 4 or 5 quickest test centuries have been at the WACA (i've seen 2 of them) - it is a belter of a pitch to watch cricket on.
Gysberts2Bate
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Playing the ball late is key at the WACA, and being able to play on the back foot. England's cross bat shots have been nightmarish so far in this series, which is something else that will haunt them at the WACA.
Zach Package
Prespakis2Tsatas
You also need a legit back foot defence. I've been really impressed with Root sofa, but the acid test will be defending the ball consistently up around the chest off the back foot, as opposed to what he's used to, which is hanging back in the crease and playing the ball off the back foot around thigh/waist height
Bucking Beads
Brownlow Medallist
If a fast bowler gets it right at the WACA they are unstoppable. Anything could happen at this test. Hopefully Johnson maintains the good form. If he does we could be in for a show.
Thread got descriptive
Funnily enough, it was their efforts to try and protect Johnson which resulted in the poor treatment of Hughes.
We brought in Watto because we needed another bowler because MJ was a mess, but they didn't want to drop him.
Easier to drop the youngster who'd just spent a county season smashing records.
Dan Cooper
Victory Salute
Could have been anything? He's still the 10th leading wicket taker of all time in Australia, that's pretty damn good. Also one of our best ever ODI bowlers of all time.Bittersweet watching that. I thought we'd another monster talent on our hands after that series.
Johnson could have been anything.
