Over a matter of months last summer, Mitchell Johnson made one of the most historic comebacks in the history of the game. From someone who has totally sidelined by the selectors; Johnson became the most feared bowler in the world. He not only demolished the English side, but his bowling instilled a fear that made English batsmen surrender in front of him.
From someone who had lost the hope of making a comeback; Johnson became the most valuable player in the Australian team.
Mitchell Johnson, in an interview with cricket.com.au, spoke about the importance of Test cricket in his life, and why it is important for him to keep himself fit for the Test cricket.
“I think I’ve got to be a lot smarter now,” Johnson told cricket.com.au.
“Twenty20, I will quite happily say, is not my favourite format – I would rather play Test cricket. And maybe one-day cricket I have to look at as well.
“But my main goal now is to get to that 2015 Ashes series in England, so I’ll be doing everything I can to reach that goal.”
At the moment, there are 6-7 quality fast bowlers in Australia. But, because of the amount of cricket that is being played these days, most of them are going through injury problems.
In Test cricket, Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle are the top 3 bowlers. And out of these 3, Johnson is the fittest. Ryan Harris has had some major injuries, and his availability is always unsure. Peter Siddle, on the hand, has lost a considerable amount of pace, and with the young breed of fast bowlers coming up, his place in the side cannot be taken for granted.
Considering all these injury problems, ageing and uncertainty, Johnson’s value becomes indispensable.
In the next Ashes series, Australia have the opportunity to win their first Ashes series in England in 14 years. After a longish bad patch, Australia are back to being number one, and to prove themselves as the genuine number one Test side, they need to keep winning.
To do so they will need a fit and firing Mitchell Johnson on the park. Johnson is a must if Australia want to dominate the world cricket once again.
With all these extravagant T20 leagues going around, managing Johnson will not be an easy task. But, for the better future of the Australian cricket; HE MUST BE PROTECTED.
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by the editor
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