The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Johnson follows in McGrath’s footsteps

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Monday, Dec 31, 2007
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Johnson follows in McGrath’s footsteps

Special Correspondent

Melbourne: The Australian left-arm fast bowler Mitchell Johnson said on Sunday that he had taken a leaf out of the Glenn McGrath Handbook of New Ball Bowling, corroborating captain Ricky Ponting’s view that the best strategy against the Indian batsmen was denial.

“It was a great thrill to share the new ball with Brett (Lee) on Boxing Day, and I just concentrated on hitting my areas,” said Johnson. “Our plan was to be patient, Test cricket is all about being patient. We (Lee, Stuart Clark and Johnson) just stuck to our plans, backing each other up. It’s so much easier with Brett and Stuey bowling so well.”

Johnson, who was part of an intense duel with Rahul Dravid in the first innings, described it thus: “To him my plan was to keep it just outside off-stump. We know he’s a very patient sort of batsman, and we could just feel it (the pressure) building. Unfortunately, I found the nick and one was dropped at gully and the other caught off a no-ball.”

Was he surprised the Indian batsmen didn’t force the play? “Look, I think it came down to the way we bowled to them,” said Johnson. “It wasn’t easy to score when you kept it outside off-stump. And we executed it well and didn’t let them score. The plan proved itself yesterday (Saturday).”

Minor changes

Johnson revealed that he had tweaked his bowling between innings. “I had a chat with Troy (Cooley, the bowling coach) about the position of my wrist. I didn’t swing too many in the first innings and that was because of the way my wrist was. I also had a chat to Brett about it. I was happy that I reversed it in the second, just concentrating on keeping my wrist nice and straight. But, I was still focusing on hitting the right areas.”

The 26-year-old, who once contemplated quitting the game after stress fractures in the back, said his time with the one-day squad helped him evolve. “Just being around Glenn (McGrath) during the DLF Cup (in Malaysia) was such a thrill. He told me to back myself, be myself, the way I was at State cricket. He said I deserved to be here and that gave me confidence. Also looking at how he prepared has helped.”

Johnson showed he had learnt well from his mentor, leaving the Indian batsmen with a taunt. “It really gave me confidence, my success against them in the DLF Cup (where he picked up Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh) and in India, which I really enjoyed. Hopefully, they’ll be thinking about me, and that’ll help me get a few more wickets.”

Sunday was a day of recovery for the Australians. Several left for Sydney, but the remaining members had a restorative session at a beach here, working with their trainer in salt water. The Australian selectors have announced an unchanged squad for the second Test.

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