Mitchell Johnson: Aggressive approach crucial in 5-0 Ashes whitewash over England
Left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson has reminisced about Australia’s historic 5-0 victory over England in the Ashes series at home last year in his new DVD titled ‘Mitchell Johnson: Bouncing Back,’ where he played an instrumental role with 37 wickets in 5 Tests at a phenomenal average of 13.97.
The Aussies had come under severe criticism for their overt aggression during the series, but Johnson justified the team’s approach by stressing that their plan to intimidate the England batsmen was absolutely critical in their eventual whitewash of the Poms.
Talking about their outlook during the series, Johnson said: "Sometimes we say stupid things when we're out there. "Sometimes we try and say things that, hopefully, get into the batsmen's heads a little bit. We try to get them to think about their feet, or just let them know you are going to bowl another short ball. It's all mind games.
"Sometimes it might look a little different on TV. It might look as if we're going a bit too hard at each other, and sometimes it could be a bit over the top. But we're always trying to stay inside the guidelines.
"If you can get into someone's mind by speaking to a batsman and tell them that their feet aren't going anywhere, hopefully, they'll start to think about that. You then bowl a short one at them, and you're in their head. I love that part of the game. I think it's great. And I don't think it's ever going to stop."
Seeing Johnson bowling at full pelt in the last 12 months has been an exhilarating sight and a far cry from a couple of years back, when a continuous lack of form had resulted in his confident being shattered, so much so that he was even considering quitting the game altogether.But a toe injury in South Africa led to him being ruled out for a few months and gave him the opportunity to get away from the pressures of the international game at least for a little while.
"For a fair while before that I was probably hoping to get injured so that somehow I could get away from the game. I needed to work on a few things. I needed to freshen up and work on some of my strengths, my fitness, some technical stuff. I just wasn't able to do that while I was constantly playing.
"There was a lot of relief there. As much as you don't want to have an injury I was sort of praying for one. Having time off was really beneficial for me.
"For the first two months of my injury I didn't miss cricket at all. I don't think I really watched it at all. I wasn't following it. I just wanted to get away from it. By the end of those two months, I started to get that itch back again."
Johnson’s exploits in the Ashes have consequently resulted in the probable end of a couple of distinguished England batsmen in Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott. While Pietersen’s exit was more to do with him allegedly being a disruptive force in the dressing room, Trott’s shortcomings against the rising delivery came to the fore.
The stress-related illness he has now thankfully overcome probably played a part in exacerbating his struggles with the bat, but there is also no doubt that the 33-year-old was ruffled by Johnson’s sheer pace and hostility.
He made just 10 & 9 in the two innings of the first Test at Brisbane, and flew back home shortly after to recover completely from the problems he was going through.
"The plan was to go hard at him. We'd knew that he'd step across a long way, and the way he plays the short ball…he struggled in that one-day series earlier in England. That was the plan to him. The delivery was probably a bit wider than I wanted it, but he pushed the bat out there because he was in a bad position. It [Trott's dismissal] was definitely a crucial point in the game."