Mitchell Johnson...Overrated? or a Star of the Future.

Generally I thought he bowled a bit short but certainly promising.

Batfink Begins wrote:Put your c0ck away. It stinks.

What do you expect after being balls deep up yer Mam?

From what I have seen he appears to have the makings of a star of the future. He is a real athlete in a sport where many non athletes can pass of as one.

I think he could have a solid career, he's not going to roll teams but i was impressed with his control on a dead track.

In the last 6 months he's really improved how many four balls he serves up.

These are the sort of pitches he needs to take wickets on, he can't afford to just wait for swing as you won't get many pitches suited to it in australia.

I really like his action. If he can just get the red ball to come back like he manages with the white one, he'll be a superstar.

few do ...but he may have a better result with the pommy red ball than the kookaburra cherry

Aye horrie, fair call. A inswinging leftie in Ashes 09 may be the difference.

Depends if he can use the right mint

The point where I agree with Skully is that MG can bring it back in and very late which is the whole point. At 26 who knows how much better he will control this ball.

Not all lefties have this capability in their physical makeup.

He is also a red hot field with a great arm.

Johnson asks Hobart locals for advice

Peter English in Brisbane

November 13, 2007












Mitchell Johnson has had little experience at Bellerive Oval but he is hopeful of finding some early swing in his first Test at the venue © Getty Images


The local knowledge of the Australia squad's two Tasmanians will be tapped by Mitchell Johnson as he looks to build on his impressive debut. Johnson has risen swiftly to international honours - the Brisbane Test was his 23rd first-class game - and his experience at Bellerive Oval is limited to a handful of domestic contests for Queensland.

Fortunately Ricky Ponting will be on hand to offer advice in the lead-up to Friday's second Test and Ben Hilfenhaus, the swing bowler, is also in the squad. "He's a good one to speak too, playing there all the time, so I'll have a chat with him," Johnson said as he prepared to leave Brisbane. "The bowling group will also probably get together and ask him a few questions."

The ball did not swing when Ponting played a Pura Cup match there two weeks ago, but there is hope from the fast men of obtaining some reverse late in the innings. Johnson remembers getting early movement in the air and off the surface, which will be analysed closely over the next couple of days.

Bellerive Oval has regularly been referred to as a "road" over the past decade, but the production of the pitch has changed since the curator Cameron Hodgkins took over. Following discussions with the Tasmania team management, Hodgkins began cultivating surfaces that did not result in regular bowling mutilation and they helped the Tigers record enough outright victories to host - and win - the 2006-07 Pura Cup final.

Hilfenhaus also benefited, picking up 60 wickets in last season's competition, but he will need an injury to a fast-bowling team-mate to match Johnson's debut. Australia have no plans to change the starting XI following the comprehensive innings-and-40-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Gabba on Monday.

Johnson was pleased with his returns of 2 for 49 and 2 for 47 and rated his first-up dismissal of Thilan Samaraweera as his favourite. "It moved away and got the edge," he said. "And I nearly got him in the second innings the same way."

At the end of the match the bowlers put their arms around each other and collected a stump to remember the strong team performance. "It was a pretty proud moment for us all," he said. Now Johnson is aiming to improve his consistency for Hobart.

"At times I was too short and a bit wide [in Brisbane]," he said. "But it was my first game and I'm pretty happy with the way things went."

Johnson opened the bowling on Friday but it looks as though he will share the new-ball duties with Stuart Clark. Ponting gave Clark, who also earned four wickets for the match, first use of the second one with Lee on Monday morning as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 300.

"Whoever gets the new ball deserves it at that time," Johnson said. "I probably wasn't swinging the ball as much as Ricky would have liked and I would have liked. Stuart was the man for the job at that stage.

"Stuart gets the ball to move around a little bit and he was even swinging the ball yesterday, which was a good sign. I'd love to get the new ball when I can, but it's not a bad thing if we share it around."

Sri Lanka are desperate for Kumar Sangakkara to return in Hobart from a hamstring tear and Johnson expects the batsman's inclusion to strengthen the side. However, the tourists will have to lift as a group if they are to have any chance of levelling the two-game series.

"We want to try to beat them again convincingly and comprehensively, and drive it into them," Johnson said. "We're on a high at the moment so we're going to keep going strong."

Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo

© Cricinfo

"The point where I agree with Skully is that MG can bring it back in and very late which is the whole point. At 26 who knows how much better he will control this ball."

BJ and Squatch both had that ability ....didnt do them much good without the control

embee wrote:"The point where I agree with Skully is that MG can bring it back in and very late which is the whole point. At 26 who knows how much better he will control this ball."

BJ and Squatch both had that ability ....didnt do them much good without the control

Let's be more specific then.

MG is fast.

he's fast enough, but he's not going to blast people out with pure pace that's for sure.

MG is fast.

So is Lee

please don't yell wrote:I think he could have a solid career, he's not going to roll teams but i was impressed with his control on a dead track.

.

I don't think he is going to be the next Lillee, but I'd be pretty happy if he ended up something like a left handed Dizzy.

Geoffrey Trueman wrote:What do you expect after being balls deep up yer Mam?

What do I expect? For you to wash it once in a while. That cheese stuff isn't supposed to be there.

Batfink Begins wrote:

Geoffrey Trueman wrote:What do you expect after being balls deep up yer Mam?

What do I expect? For you to wash it once in a while. That cheese stuff isn't supposed to be there.

You have to exscuse his phimosis . . .

skully wrote:Aye horrie, fair call. A inswinging leftie in Ashes 09 may be the difference.

We'll have Sidebottom.

Englands Attack for the Ashes 2009

I'd be happy with

Sidebottom
Hoggard
Harris
Broad
Panesar

Broad should turn into an allrounder by then if he can keep his batting going and Harris is no rabbit either.

DJ_Smerk wrote:Englands Attack for the Ashes 2009

I'd be happy with

Sidebottom
Hoggard
Harris
Broad
Panesar

Fark that's an ordinary attack . . .

DJ_Smerk wrote:Englands Attack for the Ashes 2009

I'd be happy with

Sidebottom
Hoggard
Harris
Broad
Panesar

You do know that the 2009 Ashes is only 19 or so months away?

Is 17 year-old James Harris really so amazing that - as a teenager - he's going to jump straight to the front of the fast bowling queue within the next year?

Or did you mean Notts trundler Andrew Harris?

embee wrote:MG is fast.

So is Lee

I will be even more specific sprigg. A fast left hander who swings the ball back in at pace.

except he didn't swing them back in during the gabba test.

Grat if he can but he's only done it with the white ball so far.

He didnt really swing the red ball back into the right hander during the last test. His pace surprised me. I had him down as a 135-145 kph man, but a lot of his deliveries were around the 147-148 mark. In fact his quickest ball in the match was 150 kph, which was faster than Lee's quickest ball (149 kph).

Lee's 150+ days may well be over; not that pace has ever been everything.