Johnson unfairly maligned ?

[Dan]

This question always comes up whenever he performs relatively well, and it's been a while since his previous display of utter ****.

But we have to remember, he comes up with a display of utter **** far more often than is acceptable for a Test bowler, and his display of utter **** is far, far worse than a bad day from anyone else. Even when Hilf doesn't look like taking a wicket, he doesn't concede 6 an over.

It's only a matter of time before order in the universe is restored and Mitchell Johnson bowls ****.

Plus he's realistically not up to Test cricket on the mental side of things.

 

[Dan]

Barmy Army taunts hurt me: Johnson | Australia Cricket, Live Cricket, Cricket Scores | Fox Sports

Never forget.

 

[benchmark00]

I think that it is obvious that I'm not MJ's biggest supporter but do yourself a favour and download some of Morkel's "highlights".

He bowls a huge amount of dross on a regular basis

I don't need to download his highlights, I've watched him. Johnson is not fit to tie his laces.

 

[sledger]

We are talking about Ablie Morkel, right?

 

[social]

I don't need to download his highlights, I've watched him. Johnson is not fit to tie his laces.

Johnson has taken 200 test wickets at 31, averages 22 with the bat and is a gun fieldsman

Morkel tas taken 165 test wickets at 30, cant bat and is little more than serviceable in the field

What's more, Johnson is a world class ODI player

You obviously havent seen Morkel play outside of the matches he has played in Oz because he bowls as much **** as any highly regarded "regular" (and that doesnt include Johnson btw, thank ****) bowler in the world today

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Barmy Army taunts hurt me: Johnson | Australia Cricket, Live Cricket, Cricket Scores | Fox Sports

Never forget.

The one reason he shouldn't be selected to tour England next year. That comes before you even look at his woeful record here or the numerous other options you have who are better than him.

 

[benchmark00]

Johnson has taken 200 test wickets at 31, averages 22 with the bat and is a gun fieldsman

Morkel tas taken 165 test wickets at 30, cant bat and is little more than serviceable in the field

What's more, Johnson is a world class ODI player

You obviously havent seen Morkel play outside of the matches he has played in Oz because he bowls as much **** as any highly regarded "regular" (and that doesnt include Johnson btw, thank ****) bowler in the world today

Nah you're completely wrong, and no, I've not just seen him play against Australia.

I cbf arguing with you, but the fact that you've brought in ODI ability and fielding speaks volumes.

They're bowlers. Judge them on bowling. Johnson is gash. Morkel is not.

 

[uvelocity]

Lobster does his job for his team. Johnson has no idea what that means or how to do it, he just occasionally has good days

 

[social]

Nah you're completely wrong, and no, I've not just seen him play against Australia.

I cbf arguing with you, but the fact that you've brought in ODI ability and fielding speaks volumes.

They're bowlers. Judge them on bowling. Johnson is gash. Morkel is not.

You're totally missing Xuhaib's point

He contends that Johnson is a better all-round cricketer than guys like Morkel not a better bowler - that's a given really and I agree with him

As for ODIs, surely you must be kidding

Johnson averages 18 with the bat at a s/r of 96 and 25 with the ball with an e/r of 4.8

He is absolutely outstanding and undoubtedly one of the best in the world

 

[Daemon]

As for ODIs, surely you must be kidding

Johnson averages 18 with the bat at a s/r of 96 and 25 with the ball with an e/r of 4.8

He is absolutely outstanding and undoubtedly one of the best in the world

he's not saying morkel > johnson in ODIs, he's just wondering why you brought it up in the discussion at all.

 

[TT Boy]

You're totally missing Xuhaib's point

He contends that Johnson is a better all-round cricketer than guys like Morkel not a better bowler - that's a given really and I agree with him

As for ODIs, surely you must be kidding

Johnson averages 18 with the bat at a s/r of 96 and 25 with the ball with an e/r of 4.8

He is absolutely outstanding and undoubtedly one of the best in the world

All well and good but Morne averages 23 in ODIs with a better economy and SR than Johnson. Maybe you mean 20/20s but Morne has a better record there too…

 

[TT Boy]

Also there is no real discernible difference from Morne Morkel at home or away. He averages 31 in test cricket away from home and has played the majority of his tests away from home. Johnson by contrast averages 35 away from home and has played fewer tests away from home than Morne.

 

[social]

All well and good but Morne averages 23 in ODIs with a better economy and SR than Johnson. Maybe you mean 20/20s but Morne has a better record there too…

The question is "Who is the better ALL-ROUND cricketer" not just bowler

Have you guys been drinking tonight?

 

[Daemon]

when people say all round cricketer they still mean within tests though. not sure why we're still discussing odis.

 

[sphynx]

The one reason he shouldn't be selected to tour England next year. That comes before you even look at his woeful record here or the numerous other options you have who are better than him.

Yep.

I think the other guy throwing them down in the game, who looks like a Stuart Clark clone is a far more daunting proposition on English pitches personally.......

 

[Son Of Coco]

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.

Mate, he's been genuinely world class for a few games in his career and genuinely ****house for the rest. The reason he gets so much flak is you have zero confidence in how he's going to bowl match-to-match. If you were a betting man and you always bet he'd bowl rubbish you'd be ahead so far.

 

[Tangles]

When he started his career we could afford him to take expensive wickets with trash balls. He had McGrath, Warne and even Lee that were more reliable and he was an x-factor that occasionally worked. Plus the batting was gun in that period so 6 an over didnt overly worry me. Now that our batting is more average and his bowling isnt protected by ATG's you see his true worth. He is a last resort IMO when we have mass injuries. He only got a game in Perth because the selectors were protecting Bird from SA and he only got a game here because 8 days rest isnt enough for 22 year old.

He will continue to get stick because his passport should have been stamped never to be picked again.

 

[cnerd123]

Johnson has taken 200 test wickets at 31, averages 22 with the bat and is a gun fieldsman

Morkel tas taken 165 test wickets at 30, cant bat and is little more than serviceable in the field

You're mistaking Morkel's bowling performances earlier in his career as a fair representation of his current ability.

 

[L Trumper]

The big problem with MJ is, there is no way he can bowl to a strategy in the game. Which affects entire bowling unit and team will be ****ed as a result of this. There is no way one can trust him to keep the pressure on the batting side at any given time. He produces match winning 1 out of 10 games but in at least 4 other games, he has the ability to lose the game on his own to an extent.

 

[BeeGee]

HeeHee... I'm enjoying the whole Johnson vs Morkel debate. Like some, I can't believe it's even a contest. Morkel is considerably better than Johnson, imo.

Ask yourself this, if Morkel was an Aussie and available to play in this current Test, would Johnson have been selected ahead of him?