When Sachin Tendulkar predicted Mitchell Johnson's rise in Ashes 2013-14
Mitchell Johnson announced his retirement mid-way through the New Zealand Test series. Since then, the cricketing world has been pouring tributes to the lethal left-armer.
Fans and experts kept recalling his devastating form in the 2013-14 Ashes series.
Johnson's stunning haul 37 wickets in the 2013-14 Ashes was the most memorable moment of his career. He was five short of breaking the record for most scalps in an Ashes series, but Rodney Hogg achieved that in six Tests. The fast bowler even clocked his fastest bowling speed of 156.8 km/hr in the Boxing Day Test.
But what if way say that the left-arm fast bowler’s disaster was predicted beforehand by one of the greats in cricket? And the great cricketer was none other than his own Mumbai Indians’ teammate, Sachin Tendulkar.
Yes, Tendulkar in an interview, just before the start of Ashes in Australia, predicted that Johnson is going to be one of the most important players who’ll help Australia bounce back and regain the ‘urn’.
Tendulkar backed Johnson to make an impact on the Ashes after watching the Australian left-arm fast bowler’s performances in the one-day series in India.
“England will want to prove a point that they can go down under and do as well as the last time. Australia will want to bounce back and prove England are wrong. It’s going to be interesting, and the way Mitchell Johnson bowled in the one-dayers against India should make it very exciting,” Tendulkar said.
England must have defeated Australia by 3-0, but the Kangaroos replied back by clinching the Downunder rubber by 5-0. English batsmen failed miserably against the pace and bounce which Johnson was producing. That was the series when Johnson became ‘The Beast’.
Mitchell Johnson’s Career In Numbers
| Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 73 | 140 | 16001 | 8891 | 313 | 8/61 | 12/127 | 28.4 | 3.3 | 51.1 |
| ODIs | 153 | 150 | 7489 | 6038 | 239 | 6/31 | 6/31 | 25.26 | 4.83 | 31.3 |
| T20Is | 30 | 30 | 656 | 797 | 38 | 3/15 | 3/15 | 20.97 | 7.28 | 17.2 |
| FC | 116 | 23561 | 13175 | 462 | 8/61 | 28.51 | 3.35 | 50.9 | ||
| List A | 184 | 9227 | 7387 | 284 | 6/31 | 6/31 | 26.01 | 4.8 | 32.4 | |
| Twenty20 | 79 | 78 | 1738 | 2254 | 92 | 3/15 | 3/15 | 24.5 | 7.78 | 18.8 |
The 34-year-old pacer made 2013-14 Ashes horrible for England and this video can give you a small gist of that: