Mitchell Johnson

[The Passenger]

johnson played magnificently in the last test but he's got to start bowling like that more often. obviously he can't produce that every test - no bowler takes 9 wickets a match, but if it's eighteen months before he does it again then the knives will be out again.

he's a massive confidence player, and for whatever reason post South Africa 2008/09 his confidence got hit masively (the issue with his mum wouldn't have helped).

if he continue's to go along with about 8 poor tests than about 3 great tests which has generally been the going rate for the course his career so far.... it may not be enough to survive at test level.... especially as we now have a good bit of quick bowling talent starting to come through the ranks and i reckon it's only a matter of time before the likes of Pattinson, Hazlewood, Starc, Cutting and Copeland really start putting the pressure on the test selectors to look at them.

but he's shown he can bowl like a genuine match winner. what he needs to work on is his poor tests. he needs to improve those performance from poor to average so that at least when he's not completely on song, he isn't being completely carried... if he can do that, then he'll get that bowling average of his down into the 25 to 27 range which will leave him as a genuine top class bowler, just short of the elite of the elite.

 

[amer]

Yeah he needs to be able to back up and find a decent performance medium. Early in his career he was going along fairly well in this respect iirc. Didn't set the world on fire but he consistently picked up poles without getting utterly smashed. A bit of consistency.

 

[XFactor1979]

4 for 168

a duck first ball

all those numbers add up to one

 

[Cooldude]

He is only good for one Test every series, the rest of the time he is a pie cart

Blokes like this in our glory days would've been a valuable 3rd bowler, but when he's your main striker, you have massive trouble

 

[Byron_Clanger]

This thread definitely is no Peter Siddle - Right Arm Poo

 

[XFactor1979]

He is only good for one Test every series, the rest of the time he is a pie cart

Blokes like this in our glory days would've been a valuable 3rd bowler, but when he's your main striker, you have massive trouble

so on that basis are you proposing 1 test series's's?

 

[Jimthegreat]

so on that basis are you proposing 1 test series's's?

Yes, to be played in Perth each time...lol!

 

[Ross Prunster]

Yes, to be played in Perth each time...lol!

Except against South Africa

 

[Johnson#26]

IMO, if the side is to progress, Johnson has to be dropped from the Test team. He's had two outstanding series (both vs RSA), and the occasional Halley's Comet moment either side. His batting is, generally, more reliable than his bowling. The excuse is that he is a wicket taker. But at what cost?

How can any international side take a bowler like Johnson into their attack for a five-day match? With all due respect to him, how could the Punter ever really know what he'll get from one of his strike bowlers (now also his most experienced)?

X-factor shmex-factor. Give us three quality, consistent pacemen at a minimum (leaving room for one more quality, consistent paceman or a promising spinner aka Beer), and we will hold our own at the bowling crease.

Everyone seems to love Johnson, and he seems like a nice guy. I enjoy watching him bat, he is very technically correct. But he can't land two balls in the same spot. And he made his Test debut in Oct. 2007. It is now Jan. 2011.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

I agree, I don't think he is good for the team. Does well for himself, gets wickets, but leaks too many runs and lets down the bowler at the other end.

I wouldn't mind imitating Englands attack...

Jimmy Anderson - quick, masterful swing bowler. Does James Pattinson swing the ball at all?

Chris Tremlett - tall, accurate bowler who troubles batsmen with extra bounce and a bit of seam. Josh Hazlewood, Trent Copeland or Peter George?

Tim Bresnan - no nonsense bowler who hits the spot and can move the ball off the seam. Hustle and Bustle, run in all day type. If Siddle can't find consistency, and Harris can't recover, then maybe Brett Geeves? Shame he is injured as I rate him.

We don't have a potential Swann, but I think O'Keefe is the best (reasonably) young spinner in the country and as such he'd be my first picked for the Sri Lanka tour. Sorry Beer!

(This is looking longer term, clearly)

 

[apollo_creed]

His lack of bowlilng discipline is an obvious concern and usually I'd agree but you can't drop for an away tour of South Africa considering what he did there last time and considering that the conditions almost perfectly suit his bowling and his height makes him an even more threatening bowler over there.

 

[Cooldude]

Great as a 3rd bowler, but he can't be your main bowler. He turns up once every 5 Tests

If you're relying on him to get you the wickets, you'll always have an inconsistent bowling attack

So find two reliable/consistent new ball quicks and he'd be superb.

 

[Gazza_11]

Siddle, Copeland and Johnson should be our attack for the next few series, because as someone said Johnson and Siddle dominated in South Africa a few years back. But if either has another poor home summer, chop them and get some fresh blood in. George, Pattinson, Starc, Hazlewood, Faulkner or whomever, I don't care! Copeland's stats are too good to ignore, and he hasn't always done it on swinging tracks. Hilfenhaus didn't show a single sign this summer, other than his first spell at the Gabba.

 

[apollo_creed]

the name's 'apollo_creed' son, not 'someone'.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Haha you're one of these cats who's read the tabloids and bought into the "Mitch is only a gun when he swings it" myth. Mitch is unplayable when he swings it, sure, but what he lost in the past year or so were his bread and butter weapons - his tight angling line with a bit of nip and his ribcage ball.

Was it the media who were in the nets with him for hours on end between the Brisbane and Perth tests desperately trying to get him to recapture that elusive swing?

If you saw his spell against South Africa in Perth, there was zero swing. Absolutely no swing at all. Just a touch of cut angling across the right hander is what allowed him to gun it. And that's the delivery he's more than capable of taking everywhere with him when his head (and action) is right.

He can't take the WACA bounce with him. Unfortunately.

 

[Radical Roo]

Mitchell Johnson only started to show really eratic signs after the arguement with his mother b4 the 09 ashes. Johnson b4 the 09 ashes was a bowler who averages around 3.5 in terms of economy rates. So b4 09 ashes, johnson was strike bowler material. He is still ****ed up in his mind.

 

[skipper kelly]

Australia is struggling to take wickets. Johnson take wickets. Overall he has 181 wickets at less than 30. He was shit for a lot of this series, only played 4 of the 5 tests but still managed to be our leading wicket taker.

He also top scored in the 1st inning in 2 of those 4 tests. But like his bowling he is very hit and miss with 2 ducks in the other 2.

He will never be the stock bowler.

The good outweighs the bad I reckon but the bad is terrible at the moment.

 

[The Passenger]

not warming at all to the idea of siddle and johnson in the same team. until one, preferably both, can get some consistency in their game then we could be on to something.

this latest injury to hazlewood is a serious concern. i don't know the full extent but a serious back injury to a 20 year old quick bowler is the absolute last thing we need to be seeing at the moment.

as for johnson. we're all a fan of him when he's on song because he's a genuine match winner. when he fires up, everyone around him gets on top, and we win most of the time. but it just kills us how often he doesn't turn up.

you can carry one inconsistent bowler in a line up. but your other two quicks need to be good consistent wicket takers (which they aren't). but you can't carry two inconsistent quicks in a line up.

personally think the selectors, for the short term anyway, are going to have to make a decision on which one to go with. at the moment i'd be opted for siddle over johnson because johnson's worst is just so so poor. i'd like to see johnson go back and show what he can do at shield level (but according to tim nielson he has nothing to learn at shield level. what a ****ing joke that comment is, but that's for another thread entirely!)

 

[mattymac]

unbefknlievable people are saying we should take johnson and siddle to south africa. i mean seriously, wtf? 4 times taken for 500+. 3 innings defeats. you guys not watch the ashes or what?

build a new attack. a proper attack. build it from scratch. keep these muppets well away from our young kids so they don't learn bad habits. absolutely no point taking siddle and johnson to south africa in the vain hope they might replicate some past glory and actually show up on the day. bollocks to that. that would just be a waste of valuable rebuilding time

fk them both off

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Great as a 3rd bowler, but he can't be your main bowler. He turns up once every 5 Tests

If you're relying on him to get you the wickets, you'll always have an inconsistent bowling attack

So find two reliable/consistent new ball quicks and he'd be superb.

ha, ha, just like that! Magic up those two other bowlers and we are set fair.

I agree though, he can't be the leader, he needs to feel relaxed enough that someone else is taking the pressure.

His technique as a batsman is so much better than his bowling technique (and so much better than Smith and Hughes!) Shame he doesn't have the temperament to play more as an all-rounder.

 

[moto748]

Siddle is the only bowler who performed creditably for youse guys, so to consider dropping him seems harsh to me.

Prior to this series, I was one of many who thought Anderson might struggle in Australia, based on his previous experience. The ball, rather than the pitches, were my main concern. What is clear is that Anderson has worked on his game to great effect since he was last in Oz. Obviously Johnson either can't or won't. As has been pointed out upthread, he's no tyro now. Yes, he's not a bad batsman at times, but, to draw a parallel, would Broad keep a place in the England side based on his batting, if he was off form with the ball? Of course not.

 

[nineteen eighty]

Good article...

http://www.backpagelead.com.au/cricket/3441-how-do-you-solve-a-problem-like-mitch-johnson

If the selectors (big IF) can pair him up with someone who is consistent and compliments his style then he stays. Otherwise, we can't continue to keep him in the team. Yes he takes wickets but he absolutely leaks runs in the process.

 

[Doodlesweaver]

Siddle is the only bowler who performed creditably for youse guys, so to consider dropping him seems harsh to me.

Prior to this series, I was one of many who thought Anderson might struggle in Australia, based on his previous experience. The ball, rather than the pitches, were my main concern. What is clear is that Anderson has worked on his game to great effect since he was last in Oz. Obviously Johnson either can't or won't. As has been pointed out upthread, he's no tyro now. Yes, he's not a bad batsman at times, but, to draw a parallel, would Broad keep a place in the England side based on his batting, if he was off form with the ball? Of course not.

I see from your location that you are in England. Have you not followed Anderson's improvement in the last couple of years?

I think to some extent Broad has held his test spot because he adds batting strength. He still doesnt' average 3 wickets a match so he has to value add.
He might have a real tussle on his hands now though.

 

[Wallaby]

Sorry guys - I'm seriously going to disagree with you about his batting. He's a fine athlete with a great eye - but his technique is shocking.
If he's got the pace of the pitch and the light, he can swing away. If he has to battle, he's not up to it.
He's been out first ball (before he has his eye in, and so technique is very important) 5 times in his career. He has been bowled 8 times in his last 15 innings. (As a comparison, a batsman like Clarke has been bowled 14 times in 114 innings - and only out first ball once). In the ashes his scores were 0, 62, 1, 0, 6, 53, 0.
He's a good hitter - not a batsman.

His test average is 22. Siddle is 17 (for example).

 

[Messenger]

Great as a 3rd bowler, but he can't be your main bowler. He turns up once every 5 Tests

This is spot on.

not warming at all to the idea of siddle and johnson in the same team. until one, preferably both, can get some consistency in their game then we could be on to something.

Siddle has been reasonable in this series, notwithstanding the problems we've had getting people out. I'd think in the short term Siddle and Hilfenhaus and Bollinger should be competing for the same spot. Whether the third guy is Heazlewood, Starc, Copeland, Faulkner et al. time will tell.