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Mitchell Johnson Retires

nevermind

U19 Debutant
Shane Watson ‏@ShaneRWatson33
Brings tears to my eyes to think that I won't play again with my great mate @MitchJohnson398. Great team man, great friend & cricket legend
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
Haha, that stare was right up there in terms of on-field theatre with the first time Flintoff did his 'parting the red sea' thing (before he ****ed it up by turning it into the body language equivalent of a catchphrase).
 

Sachin114

Cricket Spectator
Shane Watson ‏@ShaneRWatson33
Brings tears to my eyes to think that I won't play again with my great mate @MitchJohnson398. Great team man, great friend & cricket legend
How was he going to play with Johnson even if Johnson hadn't retired?
 

Burgey

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You can't consistently play bowling like he produced in the last home Ashes series and what followed in SA. Sure you can smack the odd score or whatever, but it's actually not possible to consistently be on top of it. It's too fast, doing too much from a slingy action making it hard to pick up, and from left arm over as well. It's a ****ing nightmare. Imagine being a good or very good test class player and feeling as helpless in the face of a bowler as someone like me used to when you'd just find someone who was just too damn fast for you. It'd be pretty humbling. Especially when on so ther given day he'd turn up and bowl utter tripe.
 

Tangles

International Vice-Captain
That Ashes test in Brisbane when so many of us wrote him off was memorable. He was a wrecking ball that summer.
 

Cabinet96

Global Moderator
No issue with this tbh.
Yeah, wanting to play international cricket is not a crime.

You can't consistently play bowling like he produced in the last home Ashes series and what followed in SA. Sure you can smack the odd score or whatever, but it's actually not possible to consistently be on top of it. It's too fast, doing too much from a slingy action making it hard to pick up, and from left arm over as well. It's a ****ing nightmare.
Why de Villiers became the GOAT after that series.
 

Athlai

Not Terrible
Produced some ATG spells, was a world class talent and a pretty decent bloke despite being Australian. Will be missed.
 

adub

International Captain
You can't consistently play bowling like he produced in the last home Ashes series and what followed in SA. Sure you can smack the odd score or whatever, but it's actually not possible to consistently be on top of it. It's too fast, doing too much from a slingy action making it hard to pick up, and from left arm over as well. It's a ****ing nightmare. Imagine being a good or very good test class player and feeling as helpless in the face of a bowler as someone like me used to when you'd just find someone who was just too damn fast for you. It'd be pretty humbling. Especially when on so ther given day he'd turn up and bowl utter tripe.
J Trott says +1
 

Ikki

Hall of Fame Member
At first thought it a bit premature, then saw he's 34 years old so probably not that far away anyway. Good luck to him.

His overall career figures IMO are on point in terms of balancing out his really high highs and low lows.
 
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adub

International Captain
Yeah, wanting to play international cricket is not a crime.
Of course not. You wouldn't get near it if you weren't super hungry.

But being honest with yourself is a virtue. He could have played out the summer and hung on, but he's decided he's done and walked away. Good on him.
 

Niall

International Coach
You can't consistently play bowling like he produced in the last home Ashes series and what followed in SA. Sure you can smack the odd score or whatever, but it's actually not possible to consistently be on top of it. It's too fast, doing too much from a slingy action making it hard to pick up, and from left arm over as well. It's a ****ing nightmare. Imagine being a good or very good test class player and feeling as helpless in the face of a bowler as someone like me used to when you'd just find someone who was just too damn fast for you. It'd be pretty humbling. Especially when on so ther given day he'd turn up and bowl utter tripe.
ESPNcricinfo Awards 2014: Test bowling winner: Mitchell Johnson | Cricket News | Awards 2014 | ESPN Cricinfo

Its worth a read that, imagine as a lower order bat, seeing your top players getting destroyed by his pace. Robin Pieterson no slouch with the bat whatsoever said the below.

One man in the viewing area who was on the list of batsmen that day was Robin Peterson. In an interview to the Cricket Monthly he remembered the effect Johnson had on the South Africans watching. "When you see any fast bowler running in, bouncing out your top order and bowling at that pace, it sends a message to the lower order, because you know he's going to come hard and aggressive at you," he said. "You try to be calm and relaxed, but it's difficult to be calm and relaxed facing 150 clicks. It's a very difficult proposition to sit there and watch."
Mc Claren though in that spell was the most uncomfortable to watch though, like Robin a useful bat just totally out of his depth that day.
 

Daemon

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That was the first spell that I thought about when I heard about the retirement.

I mean, you feel for Faf don't you? 15-2 and you get such a brute delivery so early, how do you play that?

Here you go btw.:D

Mitchell Johnson 7/68 vs South Africa 2014 HD | Tune.pk

(not great, but better than nothing)
Johnson and de Villiers make this innings one of the most memorable of all time.

I just love him for giving viewers that series and the home Ashes. It was honestly the first time I'd been truly blown away and in awe of a cricketer.
 
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OverratedSanity

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For a guy known for his short stuff, he was pretty smart in using the full delivery angling across the batsman to sucker him into an edge. That's what was awesome about his peak imo... not just brute bouncers but he knew when to pitch it up.

Also, his off cutter was a thing of beauty. That one to Pujara.
 

Swingpanzee

International Regular
Yup the one to Pujara was a gem, will always remember it.

Was about time for him to retire, still a bit shocked though :( Thanks Mitch for some of the best spells of fast bowling ever in the history of the game.
 

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