Death of Phillip Hughes made me question way I played cricket, says Mitchell Johnson
Former fierce fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has admitted that it was his Australian teammate Phil Hughes’ death that made him question the way he played cricket, in an interview with ABC post his retirement from international cricket.
In an exclusive interview with Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mitch Johnson has opened himself up and mentioned in detail the factors that affected his illustrious career at the highest level.
This is what the former Australian fast bowler had to say about the untimely death of Phil Hughes, who was struck on the head by paceman Sean Abbott: "It still hurts to this day. It definitely affected players around the world and I think it changed the game a little bit, for a while there,"
Did I play in spirit of the game: Johnson
Talking about the historic Ashes series in 2013-2014 that he made his own by picking 37 wickets, Johnson said, "I had that Ashes series where I was really aggressive and bowling a lot of short balls and I did hit players.
"And it made me think, was I doing the right thing? You know, was I playing in the spirit of the game?"
"My job as a fast bowler was to be aggressive, bowl some short balls, be in their face a little bit," he said. He also reluctantly admitted that striking fear in the heart of batsmen actually made him feel "special".
He also went on to suggest that aggression is one of the prime weapons of a fast bowler and mentioned bowlers like Lilly and Ambrose who had the same spirit for the game. When asked about the lows of his career and about being the butt of many Barmy army jokes the paceman said, “It was a pretty tough period in my career.”
"I felt that I hadn't given my all to the team and I wanted to go out there and perform at my best."
Feel privileged to have played so many games for Australia: Johnson
He also talked about the psychiatric help that he received from the highly praised army veteran Ben Roberts-Smith and said, “He was great to me and he took me under his wing and I was able to go out there and be positive - he gave me that confidence to believe in myself,"
Commenting on his decision to retire, Johnson said "It was in the first innings (against New Zealand in Perth) and I had the ball in my hand and I just didn't feel that I had that want any more and that desire and hunger.
"That was the first real time out there where I really just felt I couldn't be at my best for the team."
Further down the track he hopes he will still be involved in cricket, perhaps coaching. He eloquently concluded the interview by saying, "I feel very privileged to have played the game and played as many games as I have for Australia."