http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mitchell-c76390 Johnson’s fallibility - Part 2 - Opinion
Continued from Part 1...
He was spotted by one of the all time greats in Australian cricket and hails from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dennis-Keith-Lillee-c53639, showed a lot of faith in Johnson, who initially
showed plenty of promise. It thus, comes as a disappointment that he has weathered off into the distance. His prowess with the ball is at times limited to taking wickets on tracks which offer plenty of movement for the bowlers. The recent series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755
in the Emirates for example, exposed Johnson’s one dimensional nature, as he failed to pick up key wickets in sweltering conditions. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nasir-Jamshed-c78752 of Pakistan, in his innings of 97, managed to pull Johnson with impunity and other batsmen managed to feast on
his bowling which lacked venom. He was once known for his ability to make the ball talk by pitching it up, but nowadays, it’s more a case of being driven for four every time he dares to bowl full.
Australia has seldom had players who make it to the international stage and fail to cement their place in the side. Players such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/PM-Siddle-c2197 for example, were fast tracked into the Australian line up and managed to make their mark at the
highest level. The same was the case with Johnson, who had shown a lot of promise, and in 2008/2009 became the leading cricketer in the world. He had the attitude to bowl fast, and he showed what he was made of when the South Africans bore the brunt of a ferocious
spell at the WACA in 2008. Johnson’s bowling helped deny the Proteas a historic win, yet those match winning performances were eclipsed by what happened after them. The lows of his career become more visible in recent times, as below par performances in the
subcontinent and even in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, hinted at a bowler who could be targeted by various oppositions.
His batting on the other hand, has constantly improved since he arrived. With a high bat lift and a strong bottom hand, Johnson has annihilated some of the best bowling attacks around the world and his 96 against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 at Johannesburg in 2009, was
one of the finest exhibitions of power hitting in that country. His status as an all rounder however, is questionable, but Johnson has numerous lower order batting feats that he can well and truly boast about. In the ODI game, Johnson and the now defunct Brett
Lee, became the backbone of an Australian lower middle order, which was baying for some power hitters to embrace the pitch. With a best score of 73 not out at an average of 18 and a strike rate of 96.12 in ODI cricket, not many could doubt his lower order
exploits as a player.
Sadly, the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MG-Johnson-c1945 who was considered a tear away bowler can blow hot and cold nowadays. His bowling figures and stats however, seem to cloud his loopholes as the spearhead of the Australian pace attack. Yet it is safe to say that those who have
seen him play, would acknowledge that Johnson can be targeted and targeted with impunity. To bill him as an all time great would thus be, premature.
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