Published: Nov 02, 2015, 10:53 AM (IST)
Edited: Nov 02, 2015, 11:08 AM (IST)
Born November 2, 1981, Mitchell Johnson, Australia’s dependable pacer, turns 34 on Monday. Johnson was discovered by Dennis Lillee in the fast bowling clinic in Brisbane at the age of 17and thereafter he joined the Adelaide Cricket Academy to better himself and turn out to be one of the most lethal fast bowlers of his time. Johnson made his One-Day International (ODI) debut in the year 2005 against New Zealand in Christchurch but left his mark for the first time against India when he took 4 wickets trading only 11 runs in his 4 overs. The wickets which included Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh made Australia understand that their future speedster is prepared to take on the world bests.
Though Johnson enjoys playing against each and every opponent, his most beloved catch seems to be South Africa. In tests, Johnson has 3 10 wicket hauls, two of them coming against South Africa and the best being 12 for 127 against South Africa at the latter’s home. In ODIs, Johnson picked up most wickets in an innings playing against Sri Lanka. He traded 31 runs for 6 wickets in his 10 wickets, the wickets including the ones of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Dropped in 2011 from the national squad, Johnson made a brilliant come back to regain his spot and is considered as one of the most important members of the baggy-greens.
Among many of his accolades, Johnson won the ICC (International Cricket Council) cricketer of the year award twice ( in 2009 and 2014). Not only with bowling, Johnson has also helped Australia with his death over batting and has helped Australia in many matches to put up a good score and win the match. He has 236 ODI wickets in his 152 matches and 306 wickets in his 136 innings. Here’s wishing Mitch a very happy birthday from CricketCountry, and hope he may continue with his mysterious bounce.
