Johnson unfairly maligned ?

[flibbertyjibber]

If Johnson hadn't been dropped on so many occasions he would probably be averaging 35 by now. His career average is on an upward curve yet Anderson, Morkel and until late Zaheer have been on a downward one or at least held around level. It begs the question have you been watching Johnson over the last 2-3 years Xuhaib?

[social]

Johnson has incredible natural talent but is a mental lightweight

I'm happy with the fact that he is, at best, the 5th choice paceman atm

It's just a shame that we have so many injuries that he received a recall and I'd be really pissed off if he is selected for the Ashes series almost irrespective of form between now and then

[Xuhaib]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

If Johnson hadn't been dropped on so many occasions he would probably be averaging 35 by now. His career average is on an upward curve yet Anderson, Morkel and until late Zaheer have been on a downward one or at least held around level. It begs the question have you been watching Johnson over the last 2-3 years Xuhaib?

I have no problems with him getting dropped it was justified he was horrible during the time period and the axe was justified but its this constant bickering "Mitch is ****" that grates me he is NOT! just inconsistent. When all these guys(Anderson, Johnson,Zaheer, Morkel) finish their careers and someone makes an analysis one would find out that they all delivered in roughly similar number of matches maybe Anderson will move out of that territory but who knows.People tend to forget for a good 20-25 match period this guy was among the top 3 fast bowlers in the world with his batting an extra bonus.**** cricketers don't average low 30's with the ball in this era and its a fact.

[benchmark00]

No but xuhbbers, Johnson is consistent, consistently ****. Every now and again he will produce a good spell, but that's after 15 tests of bowling junk and giving the opposition a leg up. It's not that he's unpenetrative, it's that he actually kills his team by bowling trash.

You can't, just can't, tolerate that in the hope he'll one day get it together when there are many many better options.

[flibbertyjibber]

The fact that Johnson is a man that us English can ridicule in the same way that they used to take the piss out of Tufnell and Malcolm says it all really. The Aussies don't want him in the team as he has let them down far too much yet the English fans love it as he more often than not will bowl pies.

[social]

Originally Posted by benchmark00

No but xuhbbers, Johnson is consistent, consistently ****. Every now and again he will produce a good spell, but that's after 15 tests of bowling junk and giving the opposition a leg up. It's not that he's unpenetrative, it's that he actually kills his team by bowling trash.

You can't, just can't, tolerate that in the hope he'll one day get it together when there are many many better options.

Agreed

Despite protestations of the Channel 9 cheer squad today, unless we continue to be slaughtered by injuries, I wouldnt give hime the chance to prove us wrong as:

a. Starc and Pattinson both have the potential to be much better bowlers and pretty effective bats so his batting quality is irrelevant; and, most importantly

b. 39 times bitten so it's about time the selectors got a bit shy of picking him again

As a fill in, I have no problem but if it is at the expense of a fit Cummins, Pattinson, Siddle or Starc (not to mention Harris) then forget it

[Xuhaib]

I don't know why I am doing this since Mitch is far from my fav cricketer but I just feel my right to defend him

Johnson career has been a tale of 3 periods. First period is his first year in international cricket where he played 30% of his test cricket.

Part 1

In this period he averages 23 with the bat and 34 with the ball. Not earth shattering figures but decent enough for a guy in his first year especially someone who is raw-ish and people see a lot of upside potential in him.

Part 2

This period starts right from his 2nd year and for a period of 21 tests which is rought 40% of his test career he averages 25 with both bat and ball. So yes for a 4/10 of his career he has been world class with the ball with borderline all round abilities.

The problem really lies in the last 30% of his career Where he has averaged 15 with the bat and 43 with the ball.

[wellAlbidarned]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

I don't know why I am doing this since Mitch is far from my fav cricketer but I just feel my right to defend him

Johnson career has been a tale of 3 period. First period is his first year in international cricket where he played 30% of his test cricket.

Part 1

In this period he averages 23 with the bat and 34 with the ball. Not earth shattering figures but decent enough for a guy in his first year especially someone who is raw-ish and people see a lot of upside potential in him.

Part 2

This period starts right from his 2nd year and for a period of 21 tests which is rought 40% of his test career he averages 25 with both bat and ball. So yes for a 4/10 of his career he has been world class with the ball with borderline all round abilities.

The problem really lies in the last 30% of his career Where he has averaged 15 with the bat and 43 with the ball.

might be the problem

[Xuhaib]

so as I said his axing was totally justified based on his final 3rd figures but imo he gets far too much flak for a guy who has been genuine world class in almost half of his career.

[Briony]

He lacks so much consistency. Away from Perth he can't be trusted. No matter what he does against the Lankans you wouldn't bet on him in England.

Looked good with the bat today (saw him live) but their attack is as bad as one that's come to our shores in years.

[flibbertyjibber]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

so as I said his axing was totally justified based on his final 3rd figures but imo he gets far too much flak for a guy who has been genuine world class in almost half of his career.

Yeah but even when he was good he had the tendency to bowl erratic spells that were either crap or great. The trouble is the great spells happen far less now so the crap is what you see most and his crap makes Devon Malcolm look accurate.

[social]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

I don't know why I am doing this since Mitch is far from my fav cricketer but I just feel my right to defend him

Johnson career has been a tale of 3 periods. First period is his first year in international cricket where he played 30% of his test cricket.

Part 1

In this period he averages 23 with the bat and 34 with the ball. Not earth shattering figures but decent enough for a guy in his first year especially someone who is raw-ish and people see a lot of upside potential in him.

Part 2

This period starts right from his 2nd year and for a period of 21 tests which is rought 40% of his test career he averages 25 with both bat and ball. So yes for a 4/10 of his career he has been world class with the ball with borderline all round abilities.

The problem really lies in the last 30% of his career Where he has averaged 15 with the bat and 43 with the ball.

There is no doubt that Johnson was world class for a period (he wouldnt have won the ICC Cricketer of the Year if he wasnt) BUT he has been rubbish too often and given our resources, he shouldnt be a regular when the others are fit (a pipedream I know)

[Xuhaib]

Originally Posted by flibbertyjibber

Yeah but even when he was good he had the tendency to bowl erratic spells that were either crap or great. The trouble is the great spells happen far less now so the crap is what you see most and his crap makes Devon Malcolm look accurate.

yeah his Ashes CV is very poor and this is where I think he gets most of his hatred though tbf he had a significant role in Australia's only 2 Ashes test victories over the last 2 series.

[Ruckus]

I think Johnson is only really good enough when he is getting the ball to swing (he can be decent enough without swing, when he gets riled up, bowls good bouncers, fast yorkers etc. but 9 times out of 10 he doesn't have the consistency for that to work). The problem is though, he just doesn't get the ball to swing enough, because, by his own admission, he doesn't know how he does it. And if you look at his seam position, it's garbage most of the time, so it's no wonder it's few and far between. That fact that you have a 30 something, experienced bowler, who still doesn't even understand the basic elements of his game is reason enough alone not to give him more extended chances.

[social]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

yeah his Ashes CV is very poor and this is where I think he gets most of his hatred though tbf he had a significant role in Australia's only 2 Ashes test victories over the last 2 series.

I dont "hate" him and actually think that he is underrated because he does have massive talent and a reasonably impressive career record

However, as one of the 9 commentators said today, he probably rates himself less than most and therein lies the problem