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Deadly with his pace and bounce and also incredibly capable with the bat, there will simply not be another bowler like Mitchell Johnson
Despite the setbacks Johnson always rose back to the Test team, somehow better than the incarnation cricketing fans had seen before. This ability to keep coming back and keep improving is one of his most admirable traits.
Johnson is Australia’s fourth highest wicket taker with 311 wickets in 72 Tests, behind the illustrious company of Dennis Lillee, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, all of whom are Australian legends.
He was a throwback to the era where fast bowlers reigned supreme, perhaps not in the class of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh or their calypso peers but cut from a similar cloth.
Johnson will go down as one of Australia’s greats. His record and some of his bowling spells will assure he is remembered from generation to generation.
When Johnson was on, he was one of the best if not the best in the world, in regards to being a complete package. He was able to decimate any team with vicious bounce, and his clean late-order hitting was proven through his 2000-plus Test runs and 11 half-centuries, as well as his 100 against South Africa.
While he never replicated the form of the 2013 Ashes series against England, Johnson was mesmerising to watch and a match-winner. Taking 37 wickets in a series is an incredible feat and it, along with Australia’s good form, brought Test cricket crowds back in droves.
The atmosphere which engulfed Australia’s mightiest Test grounds from the MCG to the Adelaide Oval and the WACA when Johnson stood at the top of his mark was reminiscent of a scene from Gladiator, a crowd baying for blood and a hero only too willing to oblige.
Johnson was an example of how bowling could be superior to the ever-growing supremacy of the bat. In a game of bigger bats, shortened boundaries, power plays and postage stamp-sized grounds, Johnson still shone. He proved that Test cricket can still lay claim to its title as the ultimate contest between bat and ball.
Admittedly Johnson had his flaws. He often seemed to struggle with being sledged, especially in England. In the early stages of his career he tired early during bowling spells and desperately needed the crowd on his side. When combined these factors led to Johnson putting in some dreadful performances and resulted in him being dropped from the Test team.
However, his omission and subsequent injury layoff proved a blessing in disguise as Johnson came back better than ever, leading Australia to victory in the aforementioned Ashes series and playing a leading hand in a gallant tour victory against South Africa in South Africa.
This period saw Johnson collect 59 wickets at 15. These feats saw him crowned ICC Player of the Year, an award he has claimed on two separate occasions in 2009 and 2014, as well as ICC Test Player of the Year and the 2014 Allan Border Medallist.
To have witnessed such a great period of fast bowling from such an exceptional player is truly a privilege and I – as will many Australians and cricket fans – will cherish those memories for many years to come
It’s been an incredible career for the bowler once labelled as ‘once in a generation’, one which should see him enter the Hall of Fame alongside other Australian greats such as Ricky Ponting and Warne.
So thank you, Mitchell Johnson, it’s truly been an adventure and a great and glorious one at that.
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