Do you rate Mitchell Johnson?

[Craig]

Yeah I do. His rise to the Australian team has been quite remarkable considering in the last 3 or 4 years it was all promise, but nothing delievered because of his constant back injuries. His selection early on for the ODI team was a pick of potential, but I was not surprisied as I had seen his performances earlier in that season and thought higher honours were possible and I have been impressed with his bowling in this series.

Good fielder and solid lower order (tail-end) bat as well.

 

[S.P. Fleming]

If there was a 3rd option in the middle I wouldve gone for that. He has good pace and can swing the ball but I dont think hes a good thinking bowler, he gets rattled and can be a bit wayward at times.

 

[Craig]

This thread came about after I read some earlier posts on him and some interesting views either or not he should have been dropped from the Test team at that time (West Indies tour to name one).

 

[Prince EWS]

can swing the ball

DWTA. Not that he needs to necessarily, but he can't at the moment.

I'm really not sure where I stand with him. I think some of the criticism he gets is quite over the top and unfounded, but at the same time I don't really think he's one of Australia's best three quicks.

I don't really enjoy watching him bowl at all but he's not completely terrible as far as his effectiveness goes.

 

[Athlai]

Good left arm quick. Worry about him more than Lee aside from when Lee decides to have a great day. Lee always struck me as a player who has amazing spells as well as some average ones. The fact Johnson is a lefty that is that fast means even when he's not bowling that well it should still trouble a bit.

 

[grapedo]

I dont rate him. I think he bowls a s*** line and length which is predominantly short and in a few years when the teams of the world workout the way he bowls he wont be in the team. I am actually expecting graeme smith to hit him to all parts this summer.

 

[pasag]

I don't think he's one of our three best Test quicks yet and during the WI series he was truly abysmal but I think he'll be quality in a couple of seasons. Deserves his one-day spot though, been very impressive in the shorter format.

 

[Son Of Coco]

I think he has a fair bit of improving to do, but given the options 'yes' was closer to the truth than 'no'.

 

[chaminda_00]

Bollinger and Bracken > Johnson

Decent bowler just not in their high class.

 

[TT Boy]

Be nice if he swung the ball but his got pace, a great tank and a decent habit of getting wickets. Decent bowler.

 

[Jono]

Like watching him bowl, gets wickets on flat tracks.

If he could swing the ball, it'd remove Ponting's continuous tactic of getting Mitch to bowl half-volleys a foot outside off stump hoping the batsman makes a mistake. Whether it works or not, its **** to watch.

 

[pup11]

I am with SOC on this one, he has lot of positives to him atm but still he has a lot of work to do on his bowling if he wants to be a test class bowler, a) he needs to get his wrist position right, b) bowl from both sides of the wicket a lot more often then he does, c) get his yorker fixed and going and d) work on his ability to use reverse swing, if he can do all this then he doesn't even need to swing the ball in conventional fashion, he is one of the quickest bowlers going around atm in world cricket but if he can add some variety into his bowling he could one of the best bowlers in world cricket in the upcoming years.

So i certainly do rate him but at the same time i feel he isn't good enough to be in the Aussie test side atm.

 

[grapedo]

Like watching him bowl, gets wickets on flat tracks.

If he could swing the ball, it'd remove Ponting's continuous tactic of getting Mitch to bowl half-volleys a foot outside off stump hoping the batsman makes a mistake. Whether it works or not, its **** to watch.

lol yeah definitley a good call

 

[inbox24]

I reckon this guy has been give far too many chances at international level. Part of a development as a cricketer has to be both good times and bad times. Being dropped will only make him hunger and appreciate the opportunities he gets and maybe give him a chance to refine his bowling and get back some form. Right now, the only wickets he gets are from rank deliveries where the batsmen makes an error trying to hit him. Much better would be Bollinger, another left hander who's proven over the last season and waited 2 test series for his opportunity.

 

[_Ed_]

I definitely do rate him. His action is among the best around at the moment IMO.

 

[Johnners]

Yes, I rate him. However despite the fact that I've been one of the few that has supported him being in the test side, I don't think he is one of the best 3 quicks in Australia in First Class/Test Match Cricket (Noffke is though, would be a Test star if the ****s gave him a chance). If he can work on his accuracy in general (line & length) I really don't give a crap if he can't swing it convnetional (has shown signs of getting reverse in Australia last summer). Anyone who can consistently bowl 140+ in a 10 over spell accurately, is going to be dangerous afaic.

Deserves his top 5 ranking in ODIs though, gun white ball bowler.

 

[Matt79]

Reckon he's been as ****e as the rest of our quicks this series, and only has better figures due to some lucky decisions and bad shots. Has potential, but at the moment, looks like not much more than a borderline Test-quality bowler.

 

[Flem274*]

Kinda unsure really. He's good at ODIs, though can be prone to the odd smashing. In tests I don't think much of him yet, he still needs to learn some essentials previously mentioned in this thread. The issue with Johnsons public perception is people either over-rate him massively or hate him massively, kinda like Steve Harmison in England or closer to home, James Franklin over here.

Just give him a proper run. I haven't followed him too closely (compared to others on here) over his entire career, but if after 10-20 tests he's playing crap and there is someone of quality to replace him (Bollinger or Noffke probably), then make the change. If his record is respectable and he's showing he can hack it at this level, keep him.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Just give him a proper run. I haven't followed him too closely (compared to others on here) over his entire career, but if after 10-20 tests he's playing crap and there is someone of quality to replace him

He's played 12 tests now...

 

[Uppercut]

He's just dropped Tendulkar. So no.