View Full Version : Mitchell Johnson
One of the most talked about cricketers we have right now (and has been for a while). Burst onto the international scene out of nowhere all those years ago at the Gabba against Sri Lanka in a Test (after being 12th man for the previous Ashes series), and has kept his spot pretty much ever since.
Developed his batting over time, to the point where he had an average over 30 at one stage, with a century and 96* to his name. In 2009 he was the leading wicket taker with 63 and scored over 500 runs, where he looked to have emerged as the next big thing in cricket. But this year, he has seriously gone down hill fast (even though he somehow still takes wickets).
What has exactly happened to him? I've always loved Johnson as a cricketer, and the sudden decline has come as a bit of a shock.
His spot in the team is secure, I'd just like him to find some form before the Ashes!
King Elvis
5 Nov 2010, 14:30
Over-coached maybe?
Over-coached maybe?
Good point. He managed to master the inswinger very well though, I'd like to know what happened to that. And the outswinger seems to have completley gone. His damaging balls are non existent atm.
He never mastered the inswinger, he got it going for a brief stint in South Africa. He's capable of the unthinkable but his bread and butter is as shithouse as it gets, or at least, it is these days. His action has changed as well. Put me in the overcoached camp, though I question his mental toughness in with that.
He never mastered the inswinger, he got it going for a brief stint in South Africa. He's capable of the unthinkable but his bread and butter is as shithouse as it gets, or at least, it is these days. His action has changed as well. Put me in the overcoached camp, though I question his mental toughness in with that.
Could you elaborate on that? I haven't noticed much of a change, but I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to technique.
Bucking Beads
5 Nov 2010, 14:57
Over-coached maybe?
I think you are spot on, they tried to get him to swing the ball and it just ain't his thing. I think he needs another shield game before the Ashes and to bowl well to be considered for the Gabba test. His form is just so bad.
mattymac
5 Nov 2010, 15:15
just had a few flukey patches early on when everyone was desperately keen for someone to put their hand up for the post mcgrath-clark era. good form coincided with that demand and we all stamped him prematurely as our strike bowler for the next era. never been consistently good and when he's bad he looks bloody awful. at his best when he's charging in on instinct not trying to exert control, which he can't do.
overcoached, underdone and weak in the head. should be at the waca today
King Elvis
5 Nov 2010, 15:19
I do think he's mentally soft, but some of those spells he bowled, especially against the Saffers, that wasn't flukey.
mattymac
5 Nov 2010, 15:21
i'd like to see him repeat them;)
EDIT: flukey was prolly a bit harsh. insert "not since repeated"
aussie1st
5 Nov 2010, 15:29
TBH the only thing keeping him in his side is his ability to pick up wickets from nothing. If they go hes in trouble as he usually going at 4 an over. Starting to question his spot in the ODI side, can just afford him in the Test side as long as Hauritz isn't going at 4 an over or Siddle for that matter.
TheColeTrain
5 Nov 2010, 15:30
Over coaching is the problem, he is never ever going to be a good line and length. The times he has destroyed the the opposition he went out with the intention to intimidate and hurt the batsmen, he would actually get them out as well but it looks like the coaches have tried to change his style. It's so frustrating following Australian cricket ATM any idiot can see the problem but nothing happens.
frankrizzo
5 Nov 2010, 15:44
Frustrating thing with Johnson is he will bowl all over the shop in a series then come out after the series and talk about how he was trying to many things and he's now going to go back to basics ect then a few series later the whole process gets repeated.
Over coached or not the bloke isn't exactly the sharpest pencil in the box.
Sadly he might be another harmison, talent to burn but no brains or balls to back it up.
His problem is he's not seeing his Mum enough
Could you elaborate on that? I haven't noticed much of a change, but I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to technique.
Go to 2:13 in this video:
B3afe2wpA4c
Also note 1:13. Smooth, upright, landing the ball on a beautiful length and getting some movement off the seam in the opposite direction to his traditional "angle across" delivery.
Now go watch some footage of his bowling in England last year.
The bloke in that video there, that's who Dennis Lillee saw and was blown away by, not the awkward, low, slingy pie chucker ambling in now. I suspect the change was made in an attempt to get the seam upright and to more consistently swing the ball, with a look towards "completing" the package, but it has had the reverse effect. As was mentioned in another thread recently, Troy Cooley has form with this, ruining Anderson for a time.
Bucking Beads
5 Nov 2010, 16:33
He bowled like that in South Africa as well. Troy Cooley has slowly destroyed his action...
He bowled like that in South Africa as well. Troy Cooley has slowly destroyed his action...
If you look closely, he was not all that upright in South Africa either. It has obviously worsened with his confidence but there's a definite long term change evident. That devastating patch is obviously a flash of what they're trying to achieve, but if he hasn't been able to find a passable baseline level of performance after a couple of years of trying, I don't think it's in the side's best interests to continue down this path.
Bucking Beads
5 Nov 2010, 17:01
I don't think he will be able to get back to his best and if he does it will take a change of action which will be a bloody tough thing to achieve IMO. We will have to see what happens.
King Elvis
5 Nov 2010, 17:05
Amer is right, he looks to be a completely different bowler.
A shitter one.
Bucking Beads
5 Nov 2010, 17:09
Amer is right, he looks to be a completely different bowler.
A shitter one.
and to top it off his batting is gone. I blame his missus, he should get rid of her and send her to me...:D
Go to 2:13 in this video:
B3afe2wpA4c
Also note 1:13. Smooth, upright, landing the ball on a beautiful length and getting some movement off the seam in the opposite direction to his traditional "angle across" delivery.
Now go watch some footage of his bowling in England last year.
The bloke in that video there, that's who Dennis Lillee saw and was blown away by, not the awkward, low, slingy pie chucker ambling in now. I suspect the change was made in an attempt to get the seam upright and to more consistently swing the ball, with a look towards "completing" the package, but it has had the reverse effect. As was mentioned in another thread recently, Troy Cooley has form with this, ruining Anderson for a time.
Damn, that was an absolute joffa of a delivery! Comparing his bowling from now to then, is like comparing Mick Lewis to Glenn Mcgrath. So then, what is stopping him from returning to that type of form? Surely he has to take some of the responsibility for how he bowls, and not just Cooley?
Agree with what's been posted in this thread.
There has been a significant decline in the quality of Johnson's bowling in the past 18 months. Johnson's not a McGrath type line & length bowler, or a Hilfenhaus type swing bowler and never will be. So why is he trying to be something he is not?
Johnson's at his best when he's bowling fast, getting some bounce of the deck and bolwing the ball at an awkward angle across the bat.
On form he shouldn't be in the national side.
Bucking Beads
5 Nov 2010, 22:01
Shame he got out it looked like he had finally found the middle of his bat.
Bomber Bears
5 Nov 2010, 22:11
He's been mostly rubbish. Soft as butter. So much loose crap, which often seem to get wickets - that cant just keep happening for a player. He could very well implode this series, although not many of the English batsmen seem the type to put someone to the sword (bar a fit Pieterson).
Probably my least favourite bowler to watch as well.
SurfingTheVoid
5 Nov 2010, 22:16
The bowler who scores the most wickets from rubbish deliveries. Just a flukey bowler generally.
Roosurgence
5 Nov 2010, 22:55
Go to 2:13 in this video:
B3afe2wpA4c
Also note 1:13. Smooth, upright, landing the ball on a beautiful length and getting some movement off the seam in the opposite direction to his traditional "angle across" delivery.
Now go watch some footage of his bowling in England last year.
The bloke in that video there, that's who Dennis Lillee saw and was blown away by, not the awkward, low, slingy pie chucker ambling in now. I suspect the change was made in an attempt to get the seam upright and to more consistently swing the ball, with a look towards "completing" the package, but it has had the reverse effect. As was mentioned in another thread recently, Troy Cooley has form with this, ruining Anderson for a time.
I haven't watched the footage, but I have noticed that he is very slumped over when he hits the crease now and seems to be bowling with more of a slingers action. When he was bowling at his best he seemed to be a lot more upright and compact (well compact for Johnson).
XFactor1979
5 Nov 2010, 23:09
Damn, that was an absolute joffa of a delivery! Comparing his bowling from now to then, is like comparing Mick Lewis to Glenn Mcgrath. So then, what is stopping him from returning to that type of form? Surely he has to take some of the responsibility for how he bowls, and not just Cooley?
perhaps he has spent more time pumping on weights rather than spending more time bowling?
ok you can be big and strong from pumping weights, but you use different muscles with regards to bowling. perhaps he needs to alter his focus or just play cricket rather than invest too much time in sports science! shane watson had an issue a while back when he was injury prone because he was gym fit from doing 6 hours of weights 6 days a week, but was not cricket fit.
i dont think glenn mcgrath was a particularly statuesque sample, he had a rock solid forearm, but he got lots of people out
the same with stuart clark
and then... there's shane warne :rolleyes:
Belnakor
6 Nov 2010, 10:32
Johnson is a massive confidence guy, that much is obvious. Soft as butter, if a little thing upsets him he is stuffed.
He needs to bowl a good 30-40 overs in an innings at the start of the summer to get his mind forgetting about the crap coaching and just come in and bowl.
IMHO it looks like he is having trouble reading the ball out of the bowlers hand when he is batting. Maybe he needs some glasses!
Johnson has always had talent and has serious ability to take wickets in patches and bags.
But he domestic watchers also knew he had regular periods in his game where he would bowl waywardly, lose his line in particular and struggle to get it back. He was brought into the Australian team an unfinished product even at the Shield level.
Some of his early games for Australia he bowled a mixed bag but kept taking wickets and quickly, all to quickly found his way to the number 1 bowler spot when in previous years he would have stayed as the supporting role.
He's just were Australian cricket is at the moment, were expecting to much from players who are not the champions of yester year.
Bucking Beads
6 Nov 2010, 21:38
Johnson has always had talent and has serious ability to take wickets in patches and bags.
But he domestic watchers also knew he had regular periods in his game where he would bowl waywardly, lose his line in particular and struggle to get it back. He was brought into the Australian team an unfinished product even at the Shield level.
Some of his early games for Australia he bowled a mixed bag but kept taking wickets and quickly, all to quickly found his way to the number 1 bowler spot when in previous years he would have stayed as the supporting role.
He's just were Australian cricket is at the moment, were expecting to much from players who are not the champions of yester year.
QFT :thumbsu:
YouDontKnowJack
6 Nov 2010, 22:14
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa182/mrdenn1s/Mitchell_Johnson_589356.jpg
Radical Roo
7 Nov 2010, 01:18
i'd like to see him repeat them;)
EDIT: flukey was prolly a bit harsh. insert "not since repeated"
MJ will never get regular swing due to his bowling action, more specifically the release action.
Radical Roo
7 Nov 2010, 01:31
Agree with what's been posted in this thread.
There has been a significant decline in the quality of Johnson's bowling in the past 18 months. Johnson's not a McGrath type line & length bowler, or a Hilfenhaus type swing bowler and never will be. So why is he trying to be something he is not?
Johnson's at his best when he's bowling fast, getting some bounce of the deck and bolwing the ball at an awkward angle across the bat.
On form he shouldn't be in the national side.
He the left arm version Ntini. That is to say, both him and Ntini uses the awkard angle to trouble the batsmen.
Cooldude
7 Nov 2010, 01:56
Most of Mitch Johnson's deliveries don't actually hit the stumps, once the batsmen figured that out this year at Test level, they were able to play him far more selectively instead of chasing him outside off and getting a nick, which is how he got most his wickets last year.
He gets into a lovely side on position but his bowling arm doesn't properly go up and over and doesn't follow through properly most the time. That's why he has a real tendency to bowl really wide outside off to right handers, his bowling arm just doesn't go past his right thigh enough to bring the ball around. When he gets it right though, he is fearsome.
Also one of the softest temperments for a fast bowler I've ever seen, for someone who can bowl as nasty as he can. Apart from the odd incident where he just looked like a whingy petulent twat