Mitchell Johnson - Best Seamer in the World?

skully wrote:Let's hope he carries that form into the one that really matters deep down to us all.

Hope the poms produce pitches with a bit in them . . . I can see KP the drama queen missing a couple of tests . . .

skully wrote:Let's hope he carries that form into the one that really matters deep down to us all.

I'm not sure theres another Series with India for a good few years now Skullz.

Looks to have added a bit of pace (was already quite fast) to how he bowled in India, and perhaps in Aus recently as well.

Johnson is getting better all the time but struggled in Australia when the pitch wasn't assisting. Would have been interesting to see if he could have extracted life in the first session on day one when the pitch seemed so slow. Yesterday and late day one, it was a different track it seemed.

What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

JGK wrote:What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

Agree, Lee was all talk but not enough action.

Red wrote:

JGK wrote:What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

Agree, Lee was all talk but not enough action.

That seemed to have been Liz's complaint.

JGK wrote:

Red wrote:

JGK wrote:What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

Agree, Lee was all talk but not enough action.

That seemed to have been Liz's complaint.

JGK wrote:What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

Aye. I was talking to my equally cricket mad brother tonight and he asked "what about Bung?". I said he won't be chosen for the England tour and will have to work his way back into the side next summer. Possibly played his last Test for Aus AFAIC.

Johnson is the most improved test-match bowler doing the rounds, and will be a handful this Summer - almost certainly the best quick bowler bowler on either side.

So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

Invader Zim wrote:So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

In fairness, there was derision from a lot of Aussie quarters six months ago. He did struggle with direction in the Windies.

Maybe Troy Cooley is actually quite good (except with Bung).

Interesting with Cooley, a average state trundler turns around the English attack, and now seems to have turned Midge into a world class bowler.

Invader Zim wrote:So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

Mainly from Aussies.

JGK wrote:What I've really liked about Midge is that he is comfortable leading the attack and taking responsibility for getting things moving for the bowlers - something Bung never could do.

It's never a good idea to use the word never when "usually couldn't" would be more apt.

Lee did exactly what is quoted above in the 2007/8 series against India. He took responsibility and got things moving that summer. It was only one summer in an underperforming career, but he did do it.

Johnson is doing it at a younger age and doesn't have a history of failure behind him so hopefully it's a sign of good things to come. But just as you wouldn't judge Lee on one summer, neither should we give Johnson too much credit for his recent string of success.

That spell of bowling yesterday was the best and most threatening I've seen from an Australian bowler in years. The test will be to see if he can do it consistently. For the record, I think he can and will.

neither should we give Johnson too much credit for his recent string of success

FFS.

Invader Zim wrote:

neither should we give Johnson too much credit for his recent string of success

FFS.

FFS straight back at you if you can't work out what something means in context.

The general consensus on this forum is that Brett Lee is crap. He had a a great sumer in 2007/8 and was duly praised (just as Johnson has been duly praised). But that also led many to say that Brett Lee had turned the corner, was capable of leading the attack well into the future.

A year later and Brett Lee is back on the scrapheap through a combination of injury and dreadful form.

Mitchell Johnson has also had a great summer. I'm very impressed. I have high hopes. I'm just sounding the warning not to get too carried away. He deserves plenty of credit for a great summer, but JGK was saying that he'd done something Bret Lee had never done. I think JGK was wrong and was giving Midge too much credit. FFS.

Fair point about Lee's 2007 which was outstanding (although he did have the experience and skill of Clark to back him up). But that was after 8 years of international cricket and as you say, it turned out to be an aberration.

But Midge looks like he actually enjoys the role and has had to do it with a stack of rookies even though he himself had only played a dozen or so tests.

Perhaps it is the speed of Midge's improvement as bowler and desire to step up that I really admire.

No denying he's good, and his aggressive attitude helps ... BUT, he has had two cracking wickets these last 2 tests to enhance his style of bowling - something he won't get on tracks in England in what is expected to be a damp summer.

Let's just wait n see come September this year, before acclaiming him to be the "best seamer in the world".

Basil wrote:

Invader Zim wrote:So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

Mainly from Aussies.

Exactly. Zim using the 'revised history' method of trolling.

Invader Zim wrote:So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

Definitely not - And yes, there's still "derision" about him.
The sighting of one swallow guaranteeing a summer comes to mind .... bottom line - he ain't proved bugger all yet.

Merlin wrote:

Invader Zim wrote:So Poms are now worried about Midge? Could have sworn there was derision about him 6 months ago...

Definitely not - And yes, there's still "derision" about him.
The sighting of one swallow guaranteeing a summer comes to mind .... bottom line - he ain't proved bugger all yet.

That's kind of what many Aussies thought about Freddie in early 2005.

Merlin wrote: bottom line - he ain't proved bugger all yet.

Except he's closing on 100 test wickets @ 26.

About 8 runs less than anyone in our current 'attack'.

As far as I can recall the Aussie derision was because he was pretty much an up and down bowler not getting much movement.

And he's proved he can take wickets against two batting lineups that I think most would agree are markedly better than England's.