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Mitchell Johnson receives just criticism for his fickle first-class performances. But, amid the clamour to concoct punch lines at his expense, many people overlook his excellent limited overs career.
Last week I joined in the derision of Johnson’s push to play in this summer’s Ashes campaign.
I am of the commonly-held opinion he is far too unreliable at first-class level and is not among the best seven or eight quicks in the country.
However, the ridicule of Johnson’s claims for an Ashes berth among readers on various sports websites, including The Roar, quickly spread to scorn of his overall ability as a cricketer.
Johnson was quoted stating he didn’t mind the crowd taunts during the first T20 match against England last week because, “I don’t think I’d cop as much flak as I did if I didn’t perform well”.
In the comment sections of the websites which carried this quote, many readers were contemptuous of Johnson’s assertion he was an accomplished T20 player, some labelling him “delusional”.
The theme was that he was a hack in all formats.
Yet Johnson has been Australia’s second best limited overs bowler the past eight years, behind only Brett Lee, during an era in which the side has experienced significant success, including back-to-back Champions Trophy wins and the 2007 and 2011 World Cup triumphs.
Since Johnson’s ODI debut in 2005, only two players have taken more than his 191 wickets at an average of 25 – Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga (231 wickets at 26) and Bangladesh spinner Abdur Razzak (194 wickets at 28).
England spearhead James Anderson, the fourth highest wicket taker in ODIs over that period, has secured 186 wickets at 30.
Anderson, a far more fashionable cricketer than the oft-parodied Johnson, is more frequently commended for his efforts in ODIs.
Yet his average, economy rate and strike rate are poor in comparison to Johnson’s over the past eight years.
Meanwhile, in T20s, Johnson has snared 64 wickets at 21 which places him in the elite bracket for pacemen.
Clearly, statistics are not the only tool by which to measure the worth of a limited overs cricketer.
But figures like Johnson’s ODI and T20 returns are hard to deny.
His ability to swing the white ball consistently makes him a dangerous, incisive operator.
It is no coincidence that Johnson’s high water marks at Test level were all the product of him gaining similar late swing into the right handers.
When the left armer gets such movement batsmen are forced into playing deliveries they would otherwise allow to pass outside the off stump for fear of being bowled or trapped in front.
Johnson’s career peaked in 2009 when he was crowned the ICC player of the year for his outstanding efforts across all formats.
At that stage, he appeared capable of becoming one of the elite players in Test cricket, having averaged 28 with the ball and 31 with the bat over the first two years of his career.
His performance on the Test tour of South Africa in 2009 had been the most extraordinary all-round effort by a cricketer since Andrew Flintoff’s magic in the 2005 Ashes.
He manhandled South Africa’s talent-laden batting line-up en route to taking 15 wickets at 25, while also showcasing remarkable dexterity with the blade, cracking a phenomenal run-a-ball 123 not out amid a series return of 255 runs at 85.
It soon became clear however that Johnson was the epitome of a “confidence player” – when his tail was up he was unstoppable, but when things went wrong they went catastrophically wrong.
Since winning that award, Johnson has averaged 34 with the ball and just 16 with the bat over 25 Tests.
He has offered up more comically-wayward spells than perhaps any other Test bowler.
Paradoxically, he has been a dependable performer in ODIs – he averages in the 20s against every nation and has excelled away from home, particularly in the subcontinent, known as a graveyard for quicks.
Undoubtedly, Johnson’s wayward Test offerings have earned all the taunts from the crowd and the gags from cricket followers.
But I am flummoxed so many fans give Johnson no credit for his considerable achievements in limited overs cricket.