5 minute readHere’s a fact for you: most left-handed batsmen are right-handed. Okay, we haven’t actually delved into the data to uncover that, so that may not technically be a fact. We’re pretty sure it’s true though. Batting is a thing you do with both hands. Just because cricket calls one stance
Continue readingTag: Mitchell Johnson
Video: Mitchell Johnson playing tennis right-handed
< 1 minute readWell, looks like we’ve got to the bottom of that whole ‘bowl to the left, bowl to the right’ thing. Turns out Mitchell Johnson is right-handed. Here’s some expert coaching advice, Mitch: bowl with your other hand. Better late than never with these kinds of tips. You may already have
Continue readingWhat the use of Mitchell Johnson’s head as a toilet brush says about the Australia cricket team
< 1 minute readIt’s increasingly fashionable for captains and coaches to talk about building culture within their team – shared values and working together and all that crap. Mitchell Johnson’s autobiography, Resilient, features a colourful anecdote from his time at the Cricket Academy in Adelaide which sheds light on every aspect of the
Continue readingThe Mitchell Johnson bowling action – a nasty and effective and unreliable thing
2 minute readMitchell Johnson contributed some extremely interesting cricket and you can’t ask for much more than that from a player. Overall, his record is very good, but that long-term-very-goodness was created by opposing short-term extremes. At his best, Johnson was as exciting to watch as pretty much any cricketer ever. If
Continue readingThe mythology of Johnson
2 minute readThat sounds a little like a crude and edgy, deliberately controversial Off-Broadway show. But it isn’t. It’s a reference to the eldest Mitchell; the man who apparently compels English batsmen to dash their own brains out in fear. Mitchell Johnson is currently the man with the fifth-best bowling average and
Continue readingWho’s your favourite Mitch? And who’s your least favourite?
< 1 minute readNot much is happening in the cricket at the minute, so we might as well busy ourselves tackling the difficult philosophical questions. If three Mitches play cricket for Australia, is it possible to have a favourite? For us, this is the order in which we’d place them – best at
Continue readingHow to react to a Johnsonning
< 1 minute readIt’s not just England then. South Africa have been forcefully Johnsonned and are probably already considering reverting to a more conservative team for the second Test. Five bowlers is great when you’re top of the world and full of confidence, but let’s just see what happens now that they’re rattled.
Continue readingThe tufty-haired boulder and the blancmange
< 1 minute readThe escape route outlined in yesterday’s article? England evaded it perfectly, opting instead to stand their ground, whereupon they were flattened by the giant, tufty-haired boulder which has been rumbling after them since they landed Down Under. The most frustrating thing is that, for all the devastation, Mitchell Johnson only
Continue readingMitchell Johnson’s back
< 1 minute readAs in ‘returned’. He hasn’t got ankylosing spondylitis or anything. Although that would go some way towards explaining why he’s forever spearing balls down the leg side. We find ourself conflicted about Johnson’s recall. He has looked like a proper fast bowler of late, which is a good thing. However,
Continue readingMichael Clarke’s support for Mitchell Johnson is getting ridiculous
< 1 minute readMichael Clarke concluded early on in his tenure that his man management of Mitchell Johnson would involve unconditional love, no matter what the tufty-haired purveyor of left-arm ineptitude did with the ball. Johnson hasn’t taken many wickets recently, but Clarke’s been steadfast in his support. Someone should tell him he
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