Mitchell Johnson Retires

[Gnske]

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

Watto just can't stop suffering.

 

[Smudge]

Can't wait to see him as an extra in a future series of Underbelly.

 

[harsh.ag]

Wasn't ready for this. Thank you, Mitch. You were amazing when you weren't crap, and amusing when you were.

 

[kiwiviktor81]

Always liked Mitchell Johnson. One of the few Aussie cricketers that I thought might actually be a decent human being.

 

[Howe_zat]

I've tried to write about Mitchell before

Usually, bowling is a team sport. You need carefully worked out plans to prey on an opposition batsman's weaknesses, and execute those plans clinically and consistently.

You can't really plan for Mitchell Johnson. You just light the blue touchpaper and watch what happens. If a Steyn or Marshall would be the kind of dazzling firework that shows the sky who's boss, Johnson would be like a cheap DIY box from Aldi. Sure, it might be incredible, but if you put the stick in the ground at slightly the wrong angle then it could veer off wildly into next door's garden and incinerate the cat.

Mitchell was at his peak cat murdering level in the 2010-11 Ashes, when he appeared to be in the middle of an experiment to find how wide you can bowl a delivery and still have it count as four byes. Nonetheless he still found the time to take a devastating six-for to win a Test at Perth. It was a similar story in 2009, when his bowling to both the left and right left viewers suspecting he probably shaved in the morning by aiming th razor three feet to the side of his own face. But he still took wickets and made runs.

Following a dropping from the reserve bowlers on a tour of India in 2013, Johnson had probably reached his lowest ebb as fans cared far less about the loss of him than the did such Test match success stories as Shane Watson and James Pattinson. The last thing anyone expected of him was to take Test cicket by storm and spend a year as the most feared, threatening bowler in world cricket.

That's exactly what he did. It remains unclear if he, his coaches, or anyone watching understands exactly why.

 

[Flem274*]

Was so fun to watch, and in the end that's why we watch. Just a silly bowler for the good and the bad.

 

[fredfertang]

He was the cause of fatt getting a half sleeve tattoo - don't care how many English wickets he took, I'll never forgive the bastard for that

 

[Spark]

That ball he bowled to Cook in Adelaide is still the most viscerally stunning single piece of cricket I've seen.

 

[Black_Warrior]

A lot of English and South African batsmen would be heaving a sigh of relief.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Never before have I seen a bloke go from an object of ridicule to a destroyer and to do both so amazingly that you sat there open mouthed as you watched. Some player, some career.

 

[theegyptian]

Interesting. I don't see any of the vitriol that Swann got for retiring mid series. I guess a lot of people have changed their views in the last couple of years.

 

[Spark]

Interesting. I don't see any of the vitriol that Swann got for retiring mid series. I guess a lot of people have changed their views in the last couple of years.

Bit of a difference retiring when you're 1-0 up to abandoning a sinking ship 0-3 down.

Mind you, the criticism of Swann was still absurd.

 

[Gnske]

Interesting. I don't see any of the vitriol that Swann got for retiring mid series. I guess a lot of people have changed their views in the last couple of years.

Yeah but Swann was a **** **** and English who cares about him.

 

[Black_Warrior]

Interesting. I don't see any of the vitriol that Swann got for retiring mid series. I guess a lot of people have changed their views in the last couple of years.

Nothing succeeds like success..and nothing is more brutal than failure. Swann retired during an abject Ashes failure. Not that it was justified, but people's reactions are mostly influenced by those factors, rather than actual issue.

 

[theegyptian]

Bit of a difference retiring when you're 1-0 up to abandoning a sinking ship 0-3 down.

Mind you, the criticism of Swann was still absurd.

Yes I know. At least Swann waited for the series to be mathematically over before announcing his retirement. If only Johnson had that class.

 

[Black_Warrior]

I can't remember but how was the reaction to Dhoni's test retirement mid series last year?

 

[jimbags]

RIP

Even as an Englishman i thought the way he came back from the ridicule he was getting in the 10/11 Ashes to destroy us in 13/14 was one of the best stories in sport

 

[Adders]

RIP

I've always thought these retirement threads on CW can get a little obituary-esq.......but FMD isn't this taking that theme a little far??

 

[wellAlbidarned]

That ball he bowled to Cook in Adelaide is still the most viscerally stunning single piece of cricket I've seen.

every time I rewatch that ball I'm just angry at the stump for not having the decency to cartwheel

 

[Spark]

every time I rewatch that ball I'm just angry at the stump for not having the decency to cartwheel

Cartwheel? I'm honestly still amazed the thing didn't snap in half.