Mitchell Johnson Profile

Mitchell Johnson Profile

Mitchell Johnson remains a once in a generation bowler more than a decade after he was first spotted by Dennis Lillee as a 17-year-old. No other fast man has been able to copy his successful left-arm method that mixes bouts of waywardness with spot-on strike-power. Off the field he is so shy that it is hard to believe he has taken on the role as Australia's chief marksman, a weapon capable of hitting batsmen and 155kph. 

An athlete who started out preferring tennis, Johnson was late to focus on cricket and suffered early in his career with four back stress fractures that almost floored him for good. He persevered, driving a plumbing van when he lost his Queensland contract, and became only the fourth Australian left-arm paceman to pass 100 Test wickets. With a strong, flowing run to the crease, Johnson can become mechanical in delivery, especially if his wrist, a long-term concern, is in the wrong position. 

When it's bad, he sprays the ball on both sides of the wicket like an old-fashioned firebrand. When it's perfect, there is probably no better bowler in the game. 

The late swing at pace is a major problem, along with sharp bounce, and sometimes it's just the angle across the batsmen that undoes them. South Africa suffered the most brutal spells in 2008-09 while England's run-makers enjoyed his wonkiest ones during the 2009 Ashes. Whatever his mood, he has become a must-have for Ricky Ponting since debuting in 2007 - and that's before considering his batting.

Johnson's belief in his run-making is so strong that he would like to open in Twenty20s or one-dayers in the future, and he will always be able to claim his Test average was 99.00 after five games. His style is smooth enough for a specialist and when he nails a big swing it looks as effortless as Ernie Els on the golf course. The owner of a Test hundred and a 96, both against the might of South Africa, he will be mildly miffed if he doesn't finish his career as a genuine allrounder.

 

Full name Mitchell Guy Johnson

Born November 2, 1981, Townsville, Queensland 

Current age 29 years 35 days

Major teams Australia, Queensland, Western Australia

Nickname Midge, Notch

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Left-arm fast

Height 1.89 m 

Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	39	54	8	1030	123*	22.39	1739	59.22	1	4	127	21	10	0
ODIs	85	47	16	500	73*	16.12	535	93.45	0	1	41	12	21	0
T20Is	24	13	4	76	28*	8.44	62	122.58	0	0	7	2	4	0
First-class	70	96	20	1837	123*	24.17			2	8			17	0
List A	109	57	21	598	73*	16.61	696	85.91	0	1			24	0
Twenty20	27	14	4	81	28*	8.10	66	122.72	0	0	8	2	4	0

Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	39	76	9122	4994	166	8/61	11/159	30.08	3.28	54.9	9	6	2
ODIs	85	83	4129	3420	129	5/26	5/26	26.51	4.96	32.0	4	2	0
T20Is	24	24	512	586	30	3/15	3/15	19.53	6.86	17.0	0	0	0
First-class	70		14425	8095	263	8/61		30.77	3.36	54.8	13	9	3
List A	109		5449	4482	159	5/26	5/26	28.18	4.93	34.2	6	2	0
Twenty20	27	27	566	640	32	3/15	3/15	20.00	6.78	17.6	0	0	0

Career statistics

 
Test debut     Australia v Sri Lanka at Brisbane, Nov 8-12, 2007 

Last Test     Australia v England at Brisbane, Nov 25-29, 2010

ODI debut     New Zealand v Australia at Christchurch, Dec 10, 2005
Last ODI     Australia v Sri Lanka at Brisbane, Nov 7, 2010

T20I debut     Australia v Zimbabwe at Cape Town, Sep 12, 2007
Last T20I     Australia v Pakistan at Birmingham, Jul 6, 2010 scorecardFirst-class debut     2001/02
Last First-class     Australia v England at Brisbane, Nov 25-29, 2010
List A debut     2003/04
Last List A     Australia v Sri Lanka at Brisbane, Nov 7, 2010
Twenty20 debut     Queensland v Tasmania at Brisbane, Jan 6, 2006
Last Twenty20     Australia v Pakistan at Birmingham, Jul 6, 2010